To watch the pain
by Allypallycally1
Summary: "I'll get you out of this place, I promise you that we will get out alive... Just please, don't give up until then." When Ed and Roy are captured by a man who calls himself 'Master', Ed falls victim to his experiments along with 3 other kids while Roy has to watch the horrific side effects and try not only to hold himself from insanity, but to hold Ed from giving up completely.
1. Chapter 1

**heelloooo! welcome to my second story EVERR! I'm pretty shifty about the title though... maybe I should change it? whatever, its just the title but I think the story is what counts so I might keep it :D I hope you like it as much as my other story because I was REALLY surprised at how many reviews I got, seriously, you guys made me feel so happy. Anyway, here's the first chapter!**

**disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or the Characters in it. **

**here we go again~**

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Roy landed on what felt like concrete, the impact bringing him out of unconsciousness with a jolt. If only his senses were as sharp as the something digging into the back of his skull.

Not quite ready to open his eyes, he tried to focus on his hearing instead, hoping that- if it managed to pierce through the cotton wool feeling in his head- it would give him a clue as to where he was and the situation he was in.

He heard the stomping of heavy boots on concrete, the creak of a metal of some sort before the sickening thud of a body and head hitting the ground, triggering a hoarse yelp that sounded like...

Fullmetal.

A muffled moan escaped the blonde's lips as he, too, was yanked from unconsciousness. Roy tried to open his eyes, wanting to see the state of his subordinate, only to find that he was not only gagged, but blindfolded too. Panic flooded into his chest as he realised that his wrists were bound, meaning that whoever or whatever had brought him here didn't want him to escape.

Roy started to struggle against the binds but his limbs still felt numb, he'd been drugged.

Hushed voices. Roy swore he'd just heard whispers coming from somewhere. Staying deathly still, he listened in, hoping to try and figure out who they were or what they wanted.

He heard Fullmetal give a groan of pain and the whispers got louder. What the hell were they doing?! Roy attempted to shout 'get the hell away from my subordinate' but it just ended up beings loud muffle of incomprehensible sounds because of the gag. The sudden sound caused the whispers to... Scream? They screamed like children, were they children?

What was going on? Where were they? Who or what had taken them? Who is with them here? What... What's Fullmetal's condition? How were they captured in the first place? All these questions were rapidly clearing Roy's foggy mind and putting him on high alert.

"M... Mustan'?" The slurred word slipped from the boy as he slowly regained his senses, hearing the man's distressed voice- though muffled- he realised that he wasn't alone, that and the pokes and prods he'd just received that sent jolts of pain up his spine...what happened?

"Fuwmewaw?" Roy tried to call to his subordinate around the gag.

Ed opened his eyes, still unfocused but the sight he saw was NOT Mustang. Faces were right up to his, WAY too close for comfort.

"Hel-"

"AHHH!" Ed yelped as he leapt back from the figures, immediately on defensive mode and all senses coming back in a rush, along with all the pain. Ed's vision began to blacken as his chest and limbs sent shock waves of pain which overwhelmed his being and he froze, gasping for breath as his throat closed under the pressure of the sensation as he fell back to the ground with a grunt, damn... Everything hurt, a lot. Shutting his eyes to try and regain his composure, he remembered his commanding officer was somewhere here.

"Mustang?! Where are you?" He yelled into the dark... Cell? Opening his eyes, Ed found that his surroundings looked like a prison cell, concrete walls and ceilings with metal bars keeping them in. Mattresses were laid next to each other into some sort of huge makeshift bed in the corner of the room.

Another muffled yell came from behind him and, at lightning speed, Ed turned around (as best he could due to every movement assaulting him with pain, but he pushed it down and concentrated on other things) to see mustang, bound, blindfolded and gagged in the cell next to his. Metal bars were the only thing separating the two rooms.

"Hey, Mustang, you ok?" Ed asked, momentarily forgetting about the other beings in his cell. "What the hell... Happened?" Ed crawled over to the cell bars separating him from the Colonel, well, tried to. He found his automail arm was bust. Letting out a curse he made his way to the bars. Seriously, how did this happen? "Hey, get over here bastard." He said as Roy began to scoot himself over to Ed.

Untying the gag and blindfold, Roy coughed as the fresh air rushed into his lungs as his eyes adjusted to the dark setting of the cell.

"What the..?" He mumbled as Ed worked on his wrist binds but with one functional arm, it wasn't quite that easy. "What's wrong with your arm Fullmetal, can't you go any faster?" He muttered. Ed growled at him and tried to move his automail, succeeding only to a degree. The metal would lock and jerk, making tearing screeching sounds and as he put more effort into it, whirring could be heard to accompany the sound.

"Looks like there are some gears missing and the casing is jammed and dented." He lifted it up in front of him and tried to stretch it out but there was a loud 'ping' and the sound of rattling metal rose above the others before the limb fell limp against Ed's side. "Shit. Well, there you go Bastard, now I don't have an arm anymore."

Roy let out a moan. Why was everything so difficult with this boy?!

Poke.

Ed nearly jumped out of his skin, hitting his already pounding head against the metal bars and triggering a jerk from Roy too as something dug into Ed's flesh arm.

"What the- WHAT THE HELL?!" Ed stared at the... The small child who was standing inches from his side, it was a boy, looked no more than 6 with brown eyes and brown hair.

"Who are you?" He asked simply. "I want you to fix my friend." His eyes seemed to grow and Ed would know that look anywhere as the look of hope.

"H-huh?" Ed was dumbfounded. Who was this kid? Why was he... Here, wherever this is? "Uhh... Ok, I'm Edward Elric, and this bastard here is Roy Mustang." The blond replied as the bind finally came loose and Roy rubbed the feeling back into his wrists, grumbling at Ed's introduction to him.

"Hey, kid. Could you tell us where we are?" Roy said, turning around to face the child on the other side of the bars, but not before checking his own cell for anyone he was sharing with, no one.

The boy looked confused for a while before answering. "You're at Master's house, of course. Isn't that why you came, to be with Master? Well I'll tell you that Kalyn is his favourite so you won't be able to get as much time with him as she does." He explained. "But now she's not fixed and I want you to fix her."

"Master? Who the hell is Master?! What are you doing here? What does he want from us? And your friend... You want us to... Fix her?" Ed was becoming panicked, not satisfied with the boy's vague answers he was unsure what to do. His thoughts were cut off by another voice that came from the beds in the corner, it was small and sounded like a very young child.

"Mikey, Kalyn is too hot." The boy's attention was instantly on the voice as he raced over to the bed. Leaning over it to put his cheek on a now visible girl in the bed, 'Mikey' ran back to Ed before he grabbed his arm and started to pull him towards the bed.

"Hey!" Both Ed and Roy shouted in unison. Ed was dragged next to the huge bed where a small girl lay, sweat poured down her face and her breaths were shallow and ragged as she clung to the sheets that covered her body like a life-line. Mikey took Ed's flesh hand and placed it on her forehead, looking up to him with sad eyes.

"Her name is Kalyn, she is 5 and is sick. Fix her, please." The boy pleaded. Ed frowned at the temperature of the girls head, it was way too hot to be healthy. She started to whimper as she woke from her sleep, going to take hold of Ed's hand from her head.

"Please... Fix me..." She whispered, barely having enough strength to speak. Ed looked at the girl, she looked so weak and fragile, and the boy looked so pleading... He saw Kalyn's face become wet as tears began to spill over into the pillow under her head. "It... Hurts..." She breathed.

"Kalyn..." Mikey whispered back, tears falling down his cheeks too, making Ed's heart break into two.

"Please! You have to fix her!" There was suddenly another voice and an even smaller figure leapt onto Ed and latched around his neck. Ed let out a strangled gasp of surprise as he tried to ply the person off of him.

"Mia, let go of Edward." Mikey said flatly as he went to pull the small girl from the teenager. "Sorry. This is Mia, she is 3 but we fixed her last week." He mumbled, eyes still locked on Kalyn. She let out a moan of discomfort and Mikey was instantly at her side, taking her hand he made small 'shhh' sounds before turning to Ed with the most desperate eyes he has ever seen.

"Ok, let me see her..." He said and started to check for her pulse to get a better idea of her condition.

"Fullmetal? What's going on?" Roy asked from across the room, unable to see much in the dim lighting.

"This girl is sick and needs medical attention." Ed stated.

"medical attention... Fullmetal, I don't know if you've noticed, but we seem to be trapped in an unidentified location under the mercy of an unrecognised person. I think that our top priority is getting out of this place-"

There was a sound of a heavy door opening and closing before a man appeared in front of both cells, putting everyone within the 'living' spaces on edge.

"Master..." Mikey whispered.

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**OMG THERE WAS CHAPTER ONE I HOPED YOU LIKED IT BECAUSE I DID IT ESPECIALLY FOR YOU! Yes, I mean you, right there. I was wondering if I was getting my ideas across right, because I think some of it is a bit vague or rushed, but hopefully ill figure it out soon enough... I was just so excited to upload it that I just went with it anyways... so tell me what ive done badly because I cant quite put my figure on it, and ill change it if you tell me! :D this story also has an actual plot line so hopefully I wont be super sucky with development and stuff like last time!**

**also... sorry for any OOCness...**

**also... if you're confused, then that's ok cos ill pretend like I was supposed to confuse you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**MIAOW. :3 I was just writing this chapter and stuff... You know, minding my own business and BAM! Out of nowhere it just... FINISHED! Like, wow. ****So after 7 minutes of consideration I decided to upload it NOW as it seemed like the only logical course of action. So here I am, eating my toast and getting crumbs under the keyboard keys and stuff but I think you'd rather read the little piece of electronic literature ova here! So here you go! **

**Le chapter 2~**

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"Who the hell are you?!" Ed stood up and stormed over to the bars that were separating the two people. The man simply stared back at the fuming teen. "Where the HELL are we and what the HELL do you want from us?!" Ed screamed.

Receiving no answer from the man, Ed's frustration flared. Reaching through the bars, Ed grabbed his collar and yanked him towards his face. "Answer me you bastard." He hissed.

"Fullmetal! Back down!" Roy screamed at the blonde, noticing the glint of metal around the stranger's wrist. "Dammit Fullmetal that's an order!" He shouted as Ed refused to let go. Roy got to his feet and ran towards the corner of his cell that was shared with Ed's cell and the hallway outside, hoping to force Ed away from this 'Master' guy.

Glancing at the approaching colonel, the man lifted his left arm, taking hold of the metal bar of the cell. Immediately his wristband started to glow and the crackling sound of alchemy was accompanied by the small blue sparks as they travelled up the bar, across the ceiling and to the wall at the back of Roy's cell where it began to form... Chains. Metal shackles shot out after the colonel before latching into his wrists and began to drag him back towards the wall as the metal chains became stone again within the wall.

"What the-?!" Ed leapt back to create distance between himself and the alchemy being performed, but he was grabbed and pulled back towards the bars, his neck colliding quite smoothly with an out held needle, the substance swiftly emptied into his blood vessel before the cold metal slipped out again.

"FULLMETAL!" Roy screamed out to the boy who seemed to be in some kind of shock, now pinned against the wall by his wrists as the shackles had completely retreated to the wall, only leaving two small stone arches, restricting all movement of his wrists. But the black haired man's attention was quickly averted as the familiar blue sparks made their way over to him from the man at the front of the cell. Flowing into one of the restraints, Roy let out a muffled 'Gaah' as a long, thin tube of metal which had been made from the stone was slid into his wrist and he felt pressure rising in his arm, indicating that he too, had been injected with a substance.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Mustang screamed as the small tube was transmuted back into the restraint. "FULLMETAL! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM THAT BASTARD!" Roy watched as the man removed his hand from the bar, now covered small rectangles that served as evidence for a transmutation, and he turned and left the hallway, shutting the heavy metal door behind him.

Roy shook his head to try and keep away the fuzzy feeling that felt... Strangely familiar. His breathing became ragged and strained as his chest started to feel constrained.

"M-mustan'... Wh-wha' was thaaat?" Roy heard Ed mumble from across the cell, still in his exact position he had been pulled to. Looking at him Roy found that the boy was in the same state as him, swaying on his feet before dropping to his knees with the sound of both flesh and metal hitting the concrete.

"Full... Fullmetal...?" Roy saw Mikey run over to his subordinate and catch him as the blond fell towards the floor. Feeling a huge exhaustion wash over him... As if something had let all his energy flow out of him... This part wasn't familiar at all...

"It's ok Mister Roy; Edward will be ok once he sleeps. If he vomits though he'll get better faster, the same with you so I suggest you do one of them. You're lucky you got to see Master so soon, I haven't seen him in a while but I'm sure he'll come for me soon." Mikey started to drag Ed over to the huge bed in his cell, Roy's lidded eyes sluggishly following the motion. "By the way, when Master puts that into you, it means he wants you to be quieter and calm down. You see, he doesn't like noise and unhappiness but he's been kind enough to let us stay here and gives us food. So we help him with his work and if he is happy with what happens, then we are all happy, but if he's not, then he..." Roy's hearing went out as his stomach started to do flips and his whole consciousness was aimed at NOT throwing up, his head span faster than ever and his body fell limp... Feeling unsettlingly relaxed... Before his mind gave out to the unconsciousness.

"Mia, can you try and put Kalyn in your spot please? I need to put Ed in mine because I can't carry him very far, he's super heavy."

"But Kalyn is heavy too! Plus she's not fixed so if we move her-"

"Yeah but now Edward and Mister Roy are not fixed too." Mikey took both of Ed's wrists and heaved him over to the bed, it was about 7 feet across and 8 feet down, so they could fit Ed in too, as long as he didn't take all the blankets. Hauling the teenager onto the bed, Mikey had to catch his breath and ended up crawling over the blond to lie next to him. Kalyn now sleeping near the wall in the spot Mia normally sleeps in.

"Mikey...?" Mia slipped into the bed next to the 7 year old, snuggling up to his side as he pulled the multiple blankets over the 4 kids.

"Yeah Mia?" He replied and held the small girl close.

"I... I don't like it here. I don't like Master, he hurts us. Did we do something wrong, Mikey? I don't like it when it hurts... Do you like it? All the needles... And the drinks he gives us," the baby girl gave a shudder. "they're not nice. Is it the same for everyone else, on the outside too?" She whispered.

"No. I don't like it. But you love Master really, don't you? Do you want to go back to Cillian Street? It's ok if you don't like it, because I'll always be right here to fix you when he's done. Besides, now that Edward and Mister Roy are here, it means that Master will want to spend more time with them than us. But we have to be strong ok? Master said that if we pass, he can let us go and we will be happy. We will live with people on the outside who... Don't live like this. Does that sound nice?"

The girl gave a giggle. "Yes! Yes! I've had this dream before, we go outside, and there's lots of nice people and food that tastes so amazing and drinks that are sweet and we can play with each other and there's no more... No more hurt." She ended in a whisper.

"Yeah, there won't be any more hurt." He said back as exhaustion took both the children away from the world, whisking them into their dreams and wishes.

**(I was gonna end it there but I figured that was WAAAY too short, so I'll give what was GOING to be chapter 3 as well)**

Roy woke with a start to the sound of heavy wretches. Opening his heavy eyelids, he found that at some point during his unconsciousness the restraints had disappeared, leaving him slumped on the floor against the wall.

He heard a low moan and a wave of nostalgia hit him... It was Fullmetal, again.

"F... Fullmetal?" Roy was surprised at how fast he was regaining his senses- even though he felt like he was in minus percentages of energy levels- this time, it was useful, but disturbing. What had he been injected with this time?

Another wretch and the sound of vomit hitting the concrete. The kid was somewhat lucky; Mikey had explained that getting... Whatever it was out of your system lead to a faster recovery.

"Mister Roy? Are you awake?" The voice of a baby girl rung through the cold, stone walls, the only sound other than Ed's pained moans and wretches. Roy turned his head to the cell divide and found the small child who was clinging to the bars, chubby figures gripping the cold metal.

"Y-yes... Is Fullmetal going to be ok?" He mumbled and pulled himself into a more comfortable sitting position.

"Edward is going to be fine. He will just need to sleep a while after this. Oh! Also... Shhhh!" The girl pressed a small finger to her lips. "Mikey and Kalyn are still sleeping, so I'm taking care of Ed ok? But you have to be quiet because Kalyn hasn't been fixed in a while so Mikey is really really tired from saying up awwwl night to make her happy."

Roy was too tired to give a full response, so he just gave a small nod to the girl who beamed back at him, the innocent smile giving him a warm feeling in his chest. But it quickly turned to sympathy. 'had that boy really done an all-nighter just to sit by the girl's bed? From the looks of it, they all sleep in one bed... At least, I think that's where Fullmetal slept too, there's enough space for all of them PLUS me on those mattresses... So why didn't he just sleep next to her, surely he does anyway? These kids have some serious resolve... Now the baby is claiming to be nursing the teenager?' Roy mused on the thoughts as he watched the toddler stumble over to the blonde that was hunched over near the back wall, back and stomach muscles still sending wave after wave of puke through the boy's mouth. All the while, Mia sat patiently by his side.

Eventually Ed's stomach had emptied its entire contents, and the boy began to dry heave. Mia got onto her little feet and started to rub Ed's back gently, making quiet 'shhh' sounds to try and calm him down. 'Damn, this baby is more of an adult than I am...' Roy thought as he sat and watched with tired eyes... He was just... So tired.

"C-colonel?" Ed hoarse voice was barely above a whisper and filled with exhaustion.

"Yes Fullmetal?" The man answered the same exhaustion evident in his voice.

"I... I can't... D-Do alchemy." The blonde said, using the wall of the cell to prop his back up as he collapsed against it into a sitting position much like Roy's. "I tried to... To get us out... An-and it hurts... A lot."

Roy frowned, figuring that the thing they had been injected with was designed to suppress their alchemical power, making getting out of this place a whole lot harder than before...

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**So I was aiming for a little bit of character development here, and the relationships to be established but that kinda... Only sort of happened. So yeah. Also, I couldn't think of another word for 'power' cos the Thesaurus was ALLL the way over... yeah I don't have one. Any suggestions? DID YOU LIKE IT? DID YOU LIKE THE STORY I WROTE? *AM WRITING* and hopefully maybe I might be able to have shorter upload gaps cos I actually know what I'm writing this time! (you have no idea how hard I found winging the last story...) so I was hoping that you guys could have a good week, go buy yourself something nice, pretend its a gift from your ol' pal Ally and SMILE. **

**keep smiling and I'll see ya later ALLYgator! (see what I did there?) :D **


	3. Chapter 3

**hahahahahahaha... exams. **

**finally... ~**

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Getting to his feet, Roy stumbled towards the division bars, using them as support as he considered the situation, barely having enough energy to stand. The great Fullmetal Alchemist admitted to pain. That actually just happened. Knowing this, it meant that something was REALLY wrong and whatever he had tried had REALLY hurt, apparently enough to make him throw up. With great concern running through his chest, Roy warily eyed the teenager across the space.

Ed was still sitting against the wall, panting and whispering thanks to the girl who stood next to him, rubbing his arm while continuing the 'shhh' sound. At his gratitude, Mia beamed and gave a small giggle.

"It's ok Edward! I see Mikey do it all the time and one day I'm going to be as big as him-" she cut herself off, slapping a hand over her mouth as she glanced over to the bed nervously before continuing in a whisper. "at least you're going to be fixed soon right?" She said and flung herself into Ed's arms. Said boy gave a hiss of pain, something had been at least bruised on the way here, maybe even broken as he remembered the pain from the earlier waking. Had he been in a fight before this? But how was he able to stand and walk and jump earlier if it hurt as much as now? Did it hurt as much last time? His mind was so cloudy that he couldn't focus on much, so maybe he ignored it?

The girl in his arms wriggled a little. He was quite surprised at the gesture, throwing yourself into a stranger's hug wasn't the usual occurrence, but Ed looked down at the small girl; there was a grin on her face. The optimism of the child was something to make Ed smile too; slowly he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. She let out another quiet giggle and pulled away to look at him.

"Shhh! We mustn't wake up Mikey and Kalyn!" she whisper-shouted, getting a half enthusiastic nod in response, she settled into the teenager's lap and started playing with the zip on Ed's jacket and resting her head on his chest. He tensed under the pressure as it sent another flash of hurt through his chest and back. He shifted slightly to change her weight to something less harmful, but Mia didn't seem to notice. "You're a nice person, Edward. Did you know that? When Kalyn gets fixed again she can be your friend too. Hehehe... I can hear your heart; it's going 'thuh-thump, thuh-thump, thuh-thump.' Kalyn said that the heart is where your love comes from. I love Kalyn and Mikey and Edward and Mister Roy all the way from the inside of my heart. Did you know that? Mikey says I love Master too but... I don't think I do. It's not the same love. But that's ok because soon he's gonna let us go and we can be happy. You'll be happy too Edward, did you know that? But it's ok here because I've got everyone I love." The girl chatted away to Ed, eyes focused on the silver zipper that her small figures flicked and pulled at as it made small jingly sounds. Ed was simply nodding to her musings: he was completely drained and felt exhausted. But the warm child on him arms made him feel quite relaxed, all hurt slipping away. 'These poor kids, how can they be so content in such a dark place?' He thought.

Roy watched the scene from behind the bars, a smile played in his lips as he saw the normally hot-headed, impatient and loud teenager look so serene and calm with that girl in his arms. His attention was taken to the bed as it shifted a little.

"Mia?" Mikey yawned as he stretched in the bed, opening his eyes and sitting up.

"Mikey!" Mia screeched and ran towards the bed, greeting the boy with a huge grin. "I made sure to keep extra quiet because I knew you wanted to sleep." She said.

"Thank you, I needed it. Where's Edward?" The boy looked around the considerably empty bed, except for him and Kalyn.

"He's over there, I've been helping him 'cause he was being sick. Mister Roy is awake too, but both of them aren't saying much." Mia pointed over to the two alchemists: Slumped against something of support and they gave a small smile at their reference. Mikey got to his feet, turning around to face Kalyn, still tucked away in the corner of the bed she lay asleep. He crawled over the mass of sheets and took her temperature through her forehead.

"How is she?" Ed asked across the cell.

Mikey have a small smile. "She's not as hot anymore, I think she's getting better."

"That's good." The blond mumbled, using the wall to get to his feet and stumbled over to the bars at the other side of the cell, connecting to the hallway. He was almost panting by the time he was there,

"Fullmetal? What're you doing?" Roy said. Clearly the teenager was exhausted and sick, so why was he trying so hard to do... Something? He watched the blonde collapse to his knees near the bars before slapping his hand onto the limp machinery attached to his shoulder. "Fullmetal?! No! Wait you idiot you said that it-!"

"We have to get out of here somehow. I'm not going to sit around and wait, Colonel, I've got things to get back remember? I'm not going to leave Al on his own. I have to keep trying." He mumbled over his shoulder before slamming his hands down on to the concrete.

Instantly there was pain. As the blue sparks of alchemy shot to black, Ed let out a blood curling shriek when his body ceased up and practically set on fire. At least, that's what it felt like. Every inch of his being sent wave after wave of unbearable torture to his mind, the feeling of whatever energy he had just put into the transmutation was ripping back up his arms, down his back and throat and collecting in his abdomen which gave another lurch. His mind went onto overdrive and tried to get away from this overwhelming hurt, only succeeding in taking his hands off the ground, stopping the reaction before his fight for consciousness was lost in the sea of agony that threatened to strangle and crush him to death if not for the blackness to wash it away.

"FULLMETAL?!" Roy screamed, watching the young alchemist crash to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the throbbing protests of his exhausted body and sprinted towards the boy, pressing himself up against the bars and tried to get a better view of Ed's condition.

Mikey was second to the scene, running over to the teenager with baby Mia right on his heels, he skidded to a halt at Ed's side.

"I don't get it! He already did that but he was sick last time! Why would he do it again?!" Mia was sobbing as she went to look at Ed's face, seeing her newest friend scream out in such agony had sent her little heart reeling.

"Mikey! Check his vitals! Hurry!" The boy was already sure of what he was meant to do, despite the Colonel's instructions. He dipped his head towards Ed's face and felt for any breath.

"His breaths are quick." He whispered, understanding what that meant before he moved his head towards Ed's chest and listening for a beat. "And so is his heart."

"Is he ok?!" Roy was pressed against the bars, trying anything and everything to gain another inch closer. 'DAMMIT! Why the heck would he do it AGAIN?! To move forward, he always has so he can't sit still but WHY IS HE SO IMPULSIVE?! That could have KILLED him! We don't even know what we were injected with and he goes and TRIES to let it kill him! If he wants to get back to his brother then he should TRY TO STAY ALIVE! If it were ANY of my subordinates other than Elric, they would have NEVER acted so carelessly! But... He needs to get out... And he knows that he has to do it by himself because... He has no one to do it for him.' Roy thought, finally collapsing to his knees and giving in to the exhaustion that clawed at his legs and letting out a long held sigh.

Now Roy had proof that whatever was in their bloodstream was acting as some sort of wall and not only restricting the power from exiting the body, but forcing it back in order to create a painful sensation as a result, almost like a shock collar for animals. Damn. That would explain why the two alchemists were beyond tired, because the alchemical energy that they had developed and was produced from their core was now not being finely intertwined with the energy of respiration, but instead been suppressed altogether. This left an unusual feeling of emptiness and fatigue.

Ed stirred and let out a small moan, little Mia who was sitting by his head went to stroke his hair to try and get him to open his eyes. It worked as golden orbs became visible and everyone in the room took in a breath.

"M-Mia?" He whispered, trying to lift his head to get a better view of his surroundings, but he was pushed back down by small hands.

"That was quick Edward, do you feel ok now?" Mikey asked with a worried tone.

"Yeah... I guess... I mean, I'm not dead, am I?" His eyes grew wide and he took in a breath. "Oh shit, am I dead?!" The started to make a better effort to sit up.

"Relax, Fullmetal. You're not dead, calm down." Roy sighed as he watched Mikey get Ed to relax back into a lying position. "And mind your language, there are children around." He added. Ed gave him the best glare he could muster at that moment.

"You really think I'm going to 'mind my language' at a time like this? We are stuck in a CELL in the middle of WHERE EVER with a guy who we don't even KNOW and totally at his mercy and I don't know about you, but I NEED to get out of here for a purpose that isn't solely for myself you bastard." Ed's eyes lowered, his voice quieter this time. "I have mistakes that I have to correct, people I need to protect and information I need to collect." He cringed at the poetic touch, it wasn't the time for that.

"But Edward... Don't you like being here, with us? Are you going to go away?" Mia's voice was trembling, she was upset that Ed had decided to leave them when he had become a close friend of hers... But also, she wanted to get out too. Fresh tears streamed down her face, making more tracks through her dusty face.

Mikey was instantly at her side. "It's ok Mia, we are fine on our own, right? Besides, we barely even know Mister Roy and Edward... I'm sure... That we'll get out soon..." The boy trailed into a whisper as his voice cracked at the mention of his forgotten freedom. He hated it here. He pulled the baby girl into a tight hug and they silently cried into each other, not afraid to show their weakness to the others in the cells.

Ed's eyes widened, the scene was so close... So similar to Al and himself when... When his mother died. They were so lost... And broken. These children were broken.

"Hey... I'm going to get you guys out of here. I promise, Ok? I won't let this guy keep you here any longer. You, Mia and Kalyn will be out of here soon, I'll make sure of it." The blond pushed himself into a sitting position, which was difficult because of only having one functional arm and said arm was greatly protesting against any movement, but he did it anyway. He looked up to see two faces, teary eyed and beaming.

Mia launched herself into his arms again, nearly knocking him back to the ground of not for the fact that Ed had managed to spin himself round to lean against the bars separating the hall from his cell, but Roy's cell was barely 3 feet from his position.

Ed wrapped his arms around Mia, holding her in his lap again. He looked back up at Mikey, giving him a huge grin that he would give Al when they found a new surge of motivation after a dead end. The boy sucked in a breath before following the baby, right into Ed's arms.

"Y-you promise right? That we will get out?" He whispered into Ed's chest.

"Yeah. I promise I will never leave you behind." Ed held both children closer, trying everything to give them what he didn't get when he was just like them: comfort, security and protection. Hoping to try and fill the hole in his heart left by the loneliness he went through with his brother. He was going to save these children. He promised.

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**I've lost hope for this fic :') I'm just not that good at writing and its really annoying me but I'm going to keep going anyway even if this story gets a load of hate and stuff I don't care because its still fun for me :D so... you know... I really hoped you liked this chapter and I'm so sorry it took so long to upload! but on the bright side, it's my birthday tomorrow so I'm super psyched! WOOP WOOP! already got a ninja turtle toy and an FMA phonecase from one of my best friends (which I finally told that I watch anime, she was super nice and happy that I do!) so I can tell this year is going to be EPIC! anyway, I'm gonna be working on the next chapter ASAP but I cant say how**** long it will take because of... you know... at the top of the chapter.**

**also, ANYONE WHO DOES AMVS OUT THERE! maybe you could be the best person in the entire world? I think that All Over You by The Spill Canvas and Skyway Avenue by We The Kings suit Royai pretty well, and Lullaby and Savin' Me by Nickelback and Move Along by All American Rejects and Reckless by You Me At Six are good for Ed and Beside You by 5 Seconds of Summer for Edwin. do you agree with me? I just wanted to say that cos its been at me for a while... but if you don't then that's cool. I just can't make them myself :') **


	4. Chapter 4

**WAAA IM SORRY! **

**If you still even remember that you followed this story~**

The great metal door creaked open, announcing to all occupants of the cells that a certain man was about to appear.

"Fullmetal..." Roy warned, telling him to get away from the bars, now.

Pushing the children off of him, Ed stumbled away from the bars, making sure to keep himself between Master and Mia and Mikey even though his whole body protested against any movement and his right arm not responding at all, he mustered up the best glare he could at the approaching man.

Fairly unceremoniously, the figure advanced to the bars, with an unsettling calmness surrounding his being. Ed tensed as he bent down, into a crouch and held out a small paper cup with a clear liquid inside.

"Fix Kalyn." He said.

Ed barely blinked before Mikey was taking the cup from his hands- seriously, how did this kid move so fast? - And stood there, quietly staring at the man.

"Hey! Get away-"

"Thank you, Master." He whispered, but he didn't move. Not until the man have a slight nod, before Mikey sped off to the bed where Kalyn lay. Mia was right on his heels but Ed and Roy stayed put, each becoming more unsettled by the way this guy was eying them both up, analysing them.

They did the same.

He had a mess of white and brown hair, and he looked about 45, so he was older than Roy. He had a few wrinkles that tore across his forehead, but an overall mutual expression. A better poker face than the Fuhrer himself. He was wearing a white coat, like a doctor or a scientist, but exactly WHAT he practiced was still a mystery.

Another nod. He got up. And left.

"What the-?" Ed whispered for the millionth time. He cringed at how paralysed he probably seemed. That wasn't it; he just didn't feel like moving because it kind of hurt a little everywhere. "Hey, bastard. We've gotta get out of here, now. This guy gives me the creeps and I have to get back to Al soon or he'll start to worry."

"Hmm Fullmetal, I think that's a great idea, I've never thought of that." Sarcasm was dripping off every word that slipped from the colonel's mouth. "You idiot, I think you've already figured that alchemy doesn't work so what do you propose us to do? No offence Fullmetal, but you look like shit and I don't think you could do much fighting no matter how much your sadistic impulses may want to."

"You can't talk you bastard, have you gained like ten years or something you old fart, who calls me sadistic when he encouraged an eleven year old to join the military. Actually, that's a good point... You're the 'commanding officer' here, where's the escape plan then?"

Ed tried to get up and storm over to a deeper part if the cell to try and come up with a plan, but... He couldn't get up to begin with. Roy's eyes narrowed at the teenager's attempt.

"Seriously, Fullmetal, have you broken your ribs? You really look... Shit." Roy's eyes widened as Ed lifted his shirt to find three palm sized purple bruises running down the left side of his... uneven chest.

"... Shit." Ed echoed. How could he have missed this? The pain should have... Should have at least been there consistently... It doesn't come and go, it's not supposed to. He hadn't noticed any pain since we woke up from... "I think that ass injected me with something with a painkiller of some sort..." He mumbled, going to trace one of the bruises, but the slightest touch caused a pained hiss to escape his lips and a mumbled 'idiot' from Roy. "... I think it's worn off now."

Roy gave a stubborn 'humph.' "I think that was your own fault, you lack control in your fighting."

"Oh yeah? How can you be so sure? Care to explain to me what happened before we ended up here?"

"You should know, Fullmetal."

"Didn't think so." Ed's smug smile quickly dropped. "If we were in a fight... Then we wouldn't walk right to them, right? So we must have been somewhere near... ALPHONSE! WHAT HAPPENED TO AL?!" Ed gripped his head with his single hand, hoping to somehow pull the necessary memory from his skull. "Oh shit, what if... What if I'm here because they broke the... And I couldn't protect him... And they caught me... And he's gone. He's gone."

Roy watched Ed have a heart attack in the middle of the cell, before he let out a slow sigh. "Why don't you calm the heck down, Fullmetal. Your brother is probably fine you idiot, if anything happened to him you would have beat the bastard shitless, not get caught. You've probably worried him because of your disappearance, so just calm down and help me think of a way out of here."

A voice suddenly rang inside of Ed's mind.

'Brother! No wait I'm sorry, don't leave!'

It was Al's voice... Was that a memory? He was sorry? Had they had a fight? Where was he going-?

"Edward! Please come over here and help me!" Mikey's voice called quietly across the cell.

"Listen, kid. Fullmetal has-" Roy was cut off by Ed's attempt at CRAWLING to the bed. Every movement was jerky and hesitant as the assault of pain was a consequence of said movements. Also, crawling with one arm is almost impossible. "You idiot!" He hissed as the blond.

"What do you need?" Ed asked as he made it to the bed, actively ignoring the Colonel's words of protests.

"Can you hold Kalyn up, please? I need to give her this." Mikey said, pointing to the girl in the mass of sheets then to the cup in his hands.

"Uh... Yeah." Ed went to pull the girl into a sitting position, earning a small moan from her. "Oh... Hey, you're awake." He muttered to her as she leant against his chest... It hurt. But he pushed it down, it's only for a second while she drinks the stuff. She nodded against him, her eyes opening just a crack. Ed hissed a little, causing Mia to jump next to him. "Um... Can you like, not move? At all? My chest kind of hurts."

Roy was almost full on shocked at how the blonde's tone had changed in just a few seconds, from the smart-assed teenager who he was talking to, to the quiet, supporting, more mature person that the kids saw.

Mikey took one of Kalyn's hands and wrapped it around the cup, holding it there with his.

"Ok Kalyn, this will fix you. You need to drink all of it." He said and guided the cup to the mouth and gently tipped the contents into her mouth. She would tug down at the cup and Mikey would take it away while she took a breath, before the process repeated until the cup was empty.

"Ok Edward, can you please lie her down again? She's gonna be tired now."

"Yeah, sure." Ed slid the girl back into bed, covering her with the sheets before collapsing against the wall next to the bed.

"Thanks... Edw'rd..." Kalyn slurred as the medication took her back into unconsciousness. Ed reached over and moved a strand of hair from her face which was now smooth with rest.

"It's ok... You get better now, d'ya hear?" He whispered, his own exhaustion catching up with him at the feel of the calm air that settled onto the cell.

"Say... Edward?" Mikey sat himself next to Ed against the wall and played with the hem of his torn shirt. "Why does Mister Roy call you 'fullmetal' or whatever?" Roy perked up at the mention of his name, turning around to see the reaction.

Ed gave a smile and turned to the boy. "Well, I'm in the military, so they gave me that name, it's my 'special military name'. But, you wanna see something cool?" Mikey nodded enthusiastically. "Check this out..." Ed lifted the sleeve to his coat to reveal the cold metal arm that glinted in the dim light.

"... Whoa." Mikey's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Are you a robot?" He whispered, gaze still glued to the metal limb. Ed chuckled at the boy's question.

"Not quite, but I could be a cyborg, I guess. And look here too." He revealed his leg to the boy who's childish wonder double-folded.

Roy almost cringed at the lightness in the teenager's voice when he labelled himself... A cyborg. Is he saying that he's not human? What does this kid really think of himself if he goes around telling people that? What... What does Ed really think of himself?

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**Im really really so sorry! I was just... in Scotland... with no laptop... SORRY! also, sorry if you didn't like this chapter... I promise the real stuff is starting next chapter I PROMISE! but... while I was there I did a little Fruits Basket thingymajig if maybe you wanna check that out... if you want... its got Kyo in pain... but sorry if you don't like that stuff. So errr... yeah. also, the next chapter might be a while cos it's exam week starting Monday so ill be really busy failing my exams... sorry :(yeah, im done now. SEE YA LATER :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**HELLO I STILL EXIST! I'm really sorry this took so long but I have actually been trying to write it every day and ever time I'd be like "how the frack do I put that into words? WHAT THE HECK ARE WORDS?!" but, eventually I finished it and this is what I came up with. so I hope you like it and stuff :)**

**there is a small time skip between this chapter and last~**

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"Hey, hey, HEY! What do you think you're DOING?!" Ed screamed as the metal shackles shot from the concrete at the front of the cell to wrap around his right angle and wrist. The 'Master' guy was using alchemical force in order to drag Ed out of the cell after the boy had put up a strong fight against his hold.

"Edward please just go with him!" Kalyn cried as she staggered off of the bed, she was making an unsettlingly fast recovery and had immediately formed a bond with her new friend. "It just hurts more if you try and get away." As if on cue, the shackles tightened around Ed's ankle, the sharp edges drawing blood as they scraped against his struggling skin.

Roy watched. He watched and said nothing. He watched Edward struggle and curse, silently sitting against the wall at the back of his cell. And although no words were said or faces pulled, but no one could miss the anger that roared behind his black eyes. It churned and lashed and grew with every inch that Ed was pulled away against his will. He should be strong enough; Edward should be able to fight back, but without his alchemy... He couldn't. That was a dirty trick.

Mikey was holding Mia back as she tried to get to Ed, to break the chains from his limbs, she knew she couldn't but that didn't stop her trying. If only Miley would just let her go. "It's not fair!" She screamed, "Edward is still new so why does he have to go already?! He won't like it so leave him alone!" The maternal sense in that tiny voice caused the blonde to freeze, turning to meet the gaze of the baby girl. He smiled at her year streaked face, a girl that young shouldn't have such stress...

"Hey, don't worry about me, ok? I'll be ok and this guy can do nothing to hurt me, I'm stronger than I look." He said. And they relaxed a bit, even though Ed was just entering the Master's reach, it didn't matter as much anymore because he was going to be ok. He had said so.

By this time Edward had finally reached Master, and the tension in the room grew as the sickening silence covered all corners. Ed turned to stare at Master, hoping to catch his movements before he made them, but his face remained stoic.

"Hey." Roy's sharp voice rung through the empty space. "If you dare TOUCH my subordinate, I swear to the gate that you will be locked up for so long that you will never see the light of day again." He spoke the words through gritted teeth as his anger flared towards the strange man at the front of the cells.

No response was given, causing his fury to double fold; he was barely able to conceal it behind his calm face, his hands balled into fists. But he knew there was nothing he could do. He knew that if he attacked this man without a full idea of his abilities would be Edward levels of stupid, and practically suicide. Roy had no alchemy, that guy did. So right now, Roy had no choice but to watch Ed get dragged out of the cell and hope that Master will give a glimpse of his strength.

No such luck. As soon as Ed was within grabbing distance, Master leant forward and slid his arm across Ed's torso, pinning his arms to his sides and taking the teenager under his arm.

"Hey, HEY LET GO! DONT TOUCH ME!" Ed screamed. "IM GONNA KILL YOU!" The shackles slipped off of Ed's wrist and ankle, so he resumed his struggling. He had to, this guy was holding him uncomfortably close to his busted ribs and it was really hurting, not that he'd tell anyone that.

Mia finally got free from Mikey's hold and sprinted towards the end of the cell. "Edward! Edward don't go please!" She cried. Master lifted Ed from the ground, leaving the boy breathless as the grip on his chest increased and his ribs were jostled, a small yelp escaping his lips. The metal door of the cell was swung shut just as little Mia reached it, her chubby arms gripping the bars as she looked pleadingly at Master.

"P-please..." She sobbed. "Please let Edward go... He won't like it... "

"Mia..." Ed whispered. It really shocked him to see such a small girl, such a baby plead for his safety. He hasn't had that sort of compassion from anyone but Al, and Al isn't here right now... And this girl really cared. His thoughts vanished as Ed was shifted in the man's arms as he turned to leave, his ribs grinding together and his bruises sending jolts of pain up his chest. He watched Mikey come up and talk the girl back into his arms as he was carried away from the cells and out of the heavy door. 'Ah crap, where am I going? Where is this dude taking me? I swear if he handles me with less than perfect care I will- OUCH. - That's it. I'm killing him...'

"... Edward..." Mia hiccupped, her big eyes glued to the door Ed had just been taken through, tears drying on her cheeks as Mikey held her in a hug.

"It's ok Mia, Edward said he'll be ok, plus he's bigger than us anyway so it won't hurt him as much." Mikey whispered to the girl.

"Yeah, besides, he's got the special arm and leg so he's really strong too!" Kalyn wobbled over to the other children, her strength increasing rapidly. Roy wondered what on earth had the guy given her... But, how long exactly had it taken her to recover? What time was it now? What time was it then? With no windows it was impossible to tell when it's night-time and when it's day, how do these kids know when to sleep and when not to? Roy's stomach gave a loud growl and another problem arose.

"Hahahaha! Your tummy made that weird sound too!" Kalyn squealed as her attention was placed on Roy.

"Do you kids get any food here?" Roy asked, taking in their seriously skinny forms.

"Ya-huh. We get food when Master brings it to us!" Mia said and went to sit by the bars dividing the two cells.

"It's not a lot but it's nice all the same." Mikey said almost solemnly, if not for the smile that covered his face.

"Ok. And what about cleaning, do you guys get baths or showers or something?" Was Roy's next question. And judging by how long the kid's stared at him, he figured they didn't know what a bath or a shower was.

"... Master cleans us sometimes, around every sixth sleep he takes us and puts us in water for a while." Mikey eventually answered, having figured out what the question meant.

"..."

Ok. Roy couldn't deny it any longer. He was seriously worried about Fullmetal, and that brat had no doubt done something stupid again so who knows what the consequences were... But he had to know more about this place, and how these kids live in order to know what to expect, but that feeling was still at the back of his mind, that niggling thought of Ed's safety being tugged away still remained in his mind no matter how hard he tried to bury it with other thoughts and questions for the kids.

"When do you sleep?"

"When it goes dark." The light turns out.

"When do you go outside?"

"Outside?" They haven't been out of the cell.

"When does 'Master' take you away like Fullmetal?"

"Every other sleep." Every other day.

"Is there an order to who he takes and when? A pattern?"

"No, sometimes Kalyn will go three times in a row." He seems to be random when it comes to the kids.

"When he takes you, what happens?" He had to know, that feeling won't go away, what is happening to Fullmetal?

"..." The children looked between each other. "Well, there are spike things that go here..." Mikey put a figure to the crook of his elbow. A needle, they were injected with stuff.

"... And sometimes there's a drink for us, in a cup." Mia adds.

"But this is after he does this thing where he hits our knee and our leg goes up, that's really funny. And then he looks into our mouths with a light and a stick, then he puts a big black thing around our arm and pumps it up until it squeezes really hard!" Kalyn seemed almost exited by the tests; she thought they were quite fun, but not the bit that came after.

One more, one more question to make the feeling go away. "And what do you feel like after he makes you drink the stuff or when he puts the spike in your arm? What happens then?"

There was a longer pause this time, eyes shifted to the floor and hands fiddled awkwardly. "... Sometimes it hurts when he uses the spike, and you can feel it hurting your arm and then in here," Mikey pointed to his chest, his heart. "but it's not long and not every time and we quickly go to sleep and Master carries us back here. And sometimes the drink makes your tummy hurt, but it's also not for long before we go to sleep."

"And when you wake up?"

"Ummm... Master can make anything happen. Sometimes, it hurts all over for ages, sometimes it makes you so that you can't feel anything, and sometimes you vomit everywhere and everything you eat comes back up... But sometimes master can make... Make what you're scared of... You can see it like a dream, but you're awake... And no one else can see it, only you... And sometimes you don't know when it'll take ages to work... What he wants to happen won't happen for a few sleeps and then suddenly it happens." Mikey shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He knew that Roy was questioning to find out what was going to happen to Edward, but he didn't want to tell him all the bad stuff, he didn't want Roy to worry too much, but he was worried too, he knew what Ed was going to go through, and he didn't like that because Ed had become a close friend, a new friend.

Roy took it all in, analysing the words. This man could make you hallucinate with your biggest fears. Oh Gate, Fullmetal had some big fears, Roy hoped to anything out there that whatever was happening to Ed right now was anything but the hallucination juice. The boy can handle pain, physical pain is nothing to him, but when it comes to pain or regret, guilt and fears, that pain of knowing you were and still are so helpless would be enough to kill Ed with enough exposure. But Roy turned his mind on the words the Mikey had said, choosing not to think of Fullmetal's weaknesses and trying to find any clues that would lead him to a weakness or motive to this man's actions, but none came. Frustrated, Roy gave a sigh and tried to push down that ever growing feeling. But not without one last question.

"How long does the Master keep you out of this cell for?"

Mikey just stared for a while, as did Mia and Kalyn: they were thinking. 'How long'? The children didn't have any sense of time other than how many times the light goes off, so to say how long something so short in comparison is was difficult.

"Umm..." Kalyn started, but even if she had an ending to her sentence, she wouldn't have been able to say it because just at that moment, the heavy metal door swung open and Master walked to the front of the cells, holding a very limp Edward Elric.

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**So? Did you like it? Hate it? I tried my best and this is what happened so I'm sorry if it's not good but maybe when I'm finished with this story then I'll go back and rewrite it so it can be better :D I really will try to have chapter 6 up soon because all my exams are over so hopefully I will! FINALLY THE REAL PLOT BEGINS! I hope you guys are all doing ok in your lives and that happy times will come soon! I'll 'see' you all soon, mmmkay?**

**P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR MONDAY TO ANGEL OF BROKEN HEARTS!**


	6. Chapter 6

**YO! I'm back baby and better than ever! well, you know, I'm more or less the same. BUT I UPDATED WITHIN A WEEK OF THE LAST UPDATE HELLS YEAH! productiveness. boom. **

**boom.~**

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The cells went silent at the sight of Edward, still under Master's arm and hanging so limply, there was such a contrast to the tense and struggling teen that had been dragged from them. The children watched: they didn't dare move in the presence of Master, fearing that one of them may be next, and they watched as Master walked up to the cell gate, opening it and dumped the blond on the floor by the bars. Ed hit the ground with such a heavy force that Roy had to suppress a wince at the damage that would do to his head, never mind his ribs.

Kalyn gave a squeak at the sight, she had urged Ed to go, yes, but she was still a child. She wasn't thinking of the future, it never came to mind when it came to Master, and now she saw the consequences of her advice. It was all her fault.

Without another word, the Master left the cells, shutting the heavy metal door behind him, trapping those inside with another barrier. All of a sudden, the silent room became a rush of activity. All occupants bar one jumped to their feet, even Roy, and raced to the unconscious boy. Well, as close as he could, in Roy's case.

"Edward! Wake up Edward, are you ok?" Kalyn spoke quickly and with panic lining her small voice. She took Ed's left hand in hers and held it tight as Mia took his famous red coat in her fists.

"Edward! Mister Roy, Edward's going to be ok, right?" Mia pleaded, grabbing more and more cloth into her little hands like it was Ed's lifeline, and she had no intention of letting go.

"Fullmetal will be fine. Mikey, can you tell what he was given?" Roy asked the boy; obviously Master wouldn't give Edward and overdose, right? He only had children to test on so far, and he wouldn't want to kill his newest lab rat, right? So if anything, Master was going to build up the doses, testing the effects.

Mikey, who had just finished checking the pulse and breathing patterns, took Ed's arm from Kalyn's grip, earning a screech of protest from the girl. He pulled up the sleeves to just above the elbow to reveal a small, round plaster stuck just in the crook of his elbow. Heavy blue veins reached out from the plaster towards both the shoulder and his wrist and were easily visible. "Metal spike." The boy said, indicating that he had found that Edward had been given an injection.

"Well of course, if I know Fullmetal then that little brat wasn't cooperative enough to take the drink." Roy muttered, secretly hoping, under all his other thoughts and emotions that Ed had put up a fight, but not so much that he had gotten more injuries.

"'m not little..." Ed coughed slightly as his eyes sluggishly opened and his breathing picked up from its worryingly slow pace beforehand.

"Edward!" Mia and Kalyn screamed in unison, increasing their grip on their respective Edward-parts.

"How do you feel? What the hell happened in there?" Roy questioned, sitting down by the bars separating the two cells.

"I'm dizzy, and moving seems difficult. I don't know what the hell that bastard-"

"Language, Elric."

"Sorry, SIR. I don't know what the hell that GUY injected me with, but it sure as hell hurt a lot."

"What did he say to you?"

"Nothing. Absolutely stuff all. He pinned me down on an operating table, tried to give me a drink- which I was NOT going to take- before jabbing the stuff into my arm." Ed spoke with a slight slur but a scowl stayed plastered on his face. He lifted his head and caught Kalyn's tearful face. "Hey, hey it's ok, don't cry. I'm ok, really."

"N-no... You're not ok! Master took you! I'm sorry Edward! I'm really sorry!" The girl sobbed, holding his hand tighter. Ed's face softened into a small smile, but his eyelids were dropping closed. He was so tired, and he hurt so much, and he didn't know where he was... Or where his brother was... He was so confused... And there was something in his body that shouldn't be there... Ed was...he was a little scared. But there was no way in hell that he was going to show it, these kids had enough fear in their lives so he needed to be strong, he'd promised to get them out...

"No... Don't cry... I'm fine." He was fading, and fast, his voice was barely above a whisper. His arm began to throb and he tensed slightly, but he didn't really care anymore, his thoughts swam as his chest became heavy and breathing slowed. Kalyn gave a shrieky whine, clearly trying to collect herself but she really cared deeply for Ed already, and she hated seeing anyone slip away from her.

"It's ok, Kalyn, Edward will wake up again right? We always do." Mikey said, getting up from his seat next to the teenager. He walked to his head and bent down to pick up Ed's shoulders from under his arms and began to slowly drag Ed towards the bed. It was painfully slow because of Ed's added weight by automail and Mikey didn't have a lot of strength to begin with anyway.

"Hey, Mikey, don't strain yourself." Roy said, watching as a thin sheen of sweat covered the boy's forehead. "Can you tell what kind of effects Fullmetal will be having?" Mikey shook his head.

"No. You can't tell until it happens."

"Hmm." Roy sighed. Mikey had finally reached the bed with Ed and was now pushing him into the mattress with double the effort. It made Roy exhausted just looking at it. Speaking of which, no matter how much Roy knew sleeping made him vulnerable, he couldn't deny that he was quite tired. He glanced around his cell, spotting a bed of equal stature to the one in the other cell, just a mattress on the ground with some blankets. Although Roy found that this one was only a single mattress where the other one was about three mattresses lying next to each other, making a huge bed.

Well, there was no harm in just lying there. He made his way over to the bed, taking off his blue military jacket as he did so- that thing was starting to get uncomfortable- and dropped it next to the bed as he collapsed onto it. After taking off his boots, Roy lay down on the bed, laying his head on the pillow that felt surprisingly good right now. He faced the other cell, watching the kids flutter around Ed and eventually calm into a small game of mommy and daddies: Mikey being the dad and Mia being Ed's little sister... Until Kalyn wanted to be Ed's little sister too. They started at each other, because someone had to be the mommy or something, but Roy wasn't really listening anymore, he was too tired and before Roy knew it, he was asleep.

"Mister Roy? Mister Roooy~" Kalyn said through the bars, waking the man up from a dreamless sleep. He opened his eyes to find the girl peering through the bars, eyes trained on him as he sat up in the bed.

"Yeah? What is it?" He tried to keep the harshness from slipping into his voice, but he really wasn't in the mood to be woken up.

"Master came in a bit ago; he's left some food for us. Come here and I'll give you some." She chirped, clearly happy with the recent progressions. But how could he have slept through that damn metal door? That thing could probably be heard throughout the entire building, however big it was... He clearly was quite tired.

Wait. Food.

"Ok, sure." Roy made his way to the bars where Kalyn sat patiently and sat down in front of her. She handed him a piece of bread, about the size of his hand, including fingers.

"I know it's not a lot but we wanted to give you the biggest piece." She said and looked to Mikey and Mia, who were sitting against the wall at the back of the cell, for approval to which they nodded between mouthfuls of bread. "Also, do you want to share Edward's piece with us?"

"Why doesn't Fullmetal get any?" Kalyn just shook her head.

"No... He had a little but he sicked it back up again just before now, so now we know that Master gave him the sick stuff." She said, glancing back over to Ed who lay on the bed, breathing heavily and occasionally let out a little moan of discomfort. If Roy had thought Ed looked like shit before, then he would have eaten his words in comparison. But, it looks like there's nothing that can be done, and no matter how much Roy hated it, he knew that he was powerless to help his subordinate. Tearing his gaze from the teenager, Roy focused back on the children. "So what's you guys' story then? How did you end up here?" He asked.

"Our mommy didn't want us. We went to Cillian Street with lots of other kids and we lived there before Master came and took us here." Mikey said, his whole aura shifted to a darker shade and his voice became a flat tone. Roy almost cringed at the emotion, or rather lack thereof, coming from the boy. He wondered just how much these kids have been through... And what was this master guy planning to do with them when he's done?

What is Cillian Street?

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**QUESTION TIME! Should I go deeper into the background of these little kiddies? or do you not care that much and just wanna carry on with the story? I'm so happy that some people like my story so thank you so much to all of those who even clicked on it! umm... there was something I needed to tell you... but I cant remember what it was! ARGH THATS ANNOYING! maybe I'll remember by the time chapter 7 comes around! **

**until then my friends! Ally out.**

**NO WAIT I REMEMBERED! I've kind of lost all concept of a legit sentence, so could you please look out for any screw ups or stupid sentences that should die/be rewritten? because I'm not sure if I know how to speak English anymore... yeah. THE END.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello there boys and my actual audience of girls! It is I, the girl who writes this story here to give you another chapter, and... WITHIN A WEEK OF THE LAST CHAPTER! (I celebrate that, while others are like one a day or every other day. you know who you are.) So, umm.. **

**Here.~**

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Roy took another bite of his bread, thinking about what the boy had just said. 'They were orphans, and so I'm guessing Cillian Street is an orphanage.'

"Are you three related? Like, brothers and sisters?" Roy asked. Mikey shook his head.

"No, me and Kalyn and Mia all come from different mommies and daddies so we're not real brothers and sisters. But we are pretend ones cause our real brothers and sisters are still at Cillian Street, so now we are brothers and sisters too."

"Yeah!" Kalyn chirped. "We're like a tiny little family! Mia is the baby, I'm the mommy and Mikey is the daddy, see?"

"I see, so you see each other as family?" Roy said, to which they all nodded and took another bite of their bread. Roy was about to ask another question, to try and go deeper into these kids' past, when a loud moan came from the bed. Ed tossed violently and squirmed under the sheets as the moan turned into a scream, but what moved Roy the most as his eyes locked onto the wriggling form, was that the scream was not one of pain, but instead one of fear. One that said "NO" rather than "OUCH".

Mikey made his way to the bed, taking hold of Ed's arm, rocking him slightly to try and wake the teen, but on contact Ed lashed out. His golden eyes were open but unseeing, and he struck Mikey across the face with his only functional arm. The boy came crashing down the floor, crying out as he hit the floor.

"FULLMETAL. WAKE UP." Roy barked at the blond, watching Mikey crawl away from Ed as fast as his spinning head allowed, Kalyn intercepting him and pulling the boy into a hug and watched Ed's screams cut off and his body shoot into a sitting position. The dim light from the hallway made Ed's face shine from the sweat that poured down his face. He sat there for a while, his breaths deep and fast as he slowly untangled his shaking limbs from the damp sheets.

"I-I don't get it..." Kalyn whispered through the silence. "We thought... It was the vomity one? Why is Edward so scared?" At the sound of his name, Ed's head shot up, finding Mikey in Kalyn's arms, holding the side of his head and letting out small choked sobs, barely audible but there all the same.

"Wha-"

"Another nightmare, Fullmetal? You hit Mikey when he tried to wake you up." Roy interrupted, informing Ed about the recent event. Ed's eyes widened, guilt filling his chest as he saw the child hold his head a little harder.

"Oh no. Oh crap Mikey, I..." Ed stumbled for words as he stumbled from the bed, the sudden movements sending a wave of nausea from his stomach and up his throat. The spinning world sent Ed to his knees as a hand clamped over his mouth to catch any bile that leaked from his mouth. None came, but that didn't stop Ed's stomach from crushing in on itself to try and wring something out, pushing Ed to balance his upper torso on his automail elbow as his body convulsed in heavy dry heaves, each breath raked in was ripped out of his throat again as the wretches became harder, tearing his throat to shreds.

"Mi... key-" Ed choked, looking to the boy pleadingly. 'Please forgive me.' His eyes said, but as the brown haired boy turned around, and Ed saw the blood that trickled from his temple, the eyes became those of horror, of self-loathing and guilt. How could he do that to this boy? Was he that much of a monster that he would hit children? What if it had been Mia, sweet, innocent, young Mia? He might as well have. Mikey was a boy that cared so much for his make shift family and had instantly accepted Ed, no questions asked and now he was sitting there, bleeding because of him.

These thoughts sent Ed's shaken mind reeling, and he lost any and all control of his body as the wretches became deafening.

"Edward Elric! For Gate's sake get a hold of yourself! Take a deep breath and bloody CALM DOWN." Roy barked from the other cell, but Ed couldn't even hear him anymore as something finally came up his throat, something hot and burning as it entered his mouth, burning that too. He spat it out in a hurry, onto the concrete to reveal a thin liquid, accompanied by drops of red spilling down his chin. He took in a hurried breath and tried his best to calm his stomach before any more of its acid was forced from his mouth. He forced a breath down into his lungs and held it there, shutting his eyes and refusing to open his mouth anymore.

"Damn... It all..." Ed whispered, finding that he had calmed down enough for speech, and he slowly pushed himself to his feet. Kneeling down next to Mikey, having a closer look at the cut. "Hey, listen Mikey, I'm really sorry. You know I didn't mean to hit you, right? It's just... When I sleep, I have nightmares, you what those are? Yeah, well I have them a lot and sometimes I just get a little scared so it takes me a while to wake up fully. You know?" While Ed was talking, he was slowly ripping a strip of cloth from his read coat, making it long and have an even width. "I... Have done... Some bad things before, and so I have to make it up, have something bad done to me so that it's fair, get it? So I have these nightmares." Ed was now wrapping the cloth around Mikey's head, making sure to keep the layers even and tight enough.

Roy's jaw nearly dropped to the ground, how was this kid open to the children he had just met, and it had taking him years to get the kid to open up. He even had to find out about the nightmares of his own. Was there some kind of connection that he was missing between them?

"There, all done. Does that feel better?" Ed said, pulling his shaky hands from tucking the end of the cloth into the layers. Mikey looked up to Ed, reaching up to feel the bandages on his head. "That'll keep your cut protected from getting dirty, right? We don't want you getting sick now." He said. Mikey nodded, a small smile curling his lips.

"Thank you." He said, pulling out of Kalyn's arms and turning to face Ed who gave another one of his huge smiles.

"I'm really sorry Mikey. Friends again?" He said, holding his arm out towards the boy. Mikey nodded and leapt into Ed's embrace, giggling slightly as they careered back onto the floor. Ed yelped from the pain in his ribs, but again pushed it down and covered it by laughing. Mikey sat on Ed's stomach, looking down at him.

"Why do you keep your hair long like a girl's?" He said.

"'Cause I like it like that. You got a problem, huh punk?" Ed joked, punching the boy lightly on the arm. He gave another giggle and pushed Ed's fist away before deciding to play along, gripping his arm and howling an "oooouch!" Before falling to the floor next to Ed. they laughed at their little game, well, Mikey did, but Ed was more entertained by the kid who had been so mature and solemn for this entire time become a real 7 year old. His giggles sending waves of normalcy through the cells, a kid was finally being a kid.

"Mia's turn! Mia's turn!" The little girl trotted over to the boys, leaping onto Edward and sitting in Mikey's previous position.

"Ok. You lookin' for a fight, sweet cheeks?" Ed tapped her rosy cheek, and she played it, shrieking and holding her face as she fell to the other side of Ed, adding to the laughter told the group. Ed looked back over to Mikey, still laughing as he saw his 'sister' roll on the floor still holding her face; he saw the bandage that covered Mikey's forehead. His laughter died down a bit as the guilt came back. He had been forgiven too easily.

"Kalyn! Come here! Mia's been smacked and needs you to kiss it better!" Mikey called to the remaining child, who got to her feet and raced towards the baby girl.

"Nooooo! No kisses ewww!" Mia screamed, getting up and running, forming a game of catch between the two girls.

Mikey turned back to Ed. "Edward? What kind of bad things have you done?" Ed's eyes grew wide, what was he supposed to say?

"Nothing. Fullmetal has done no wrongs on purpose. It's only his mistakes that he blames himself for." Roy said, taking the spot from Ed, who gave him a hard look in response.

"Yeah, well they were my fault. But I'm going to fix it anyway, so who cares." He said. Mikey simply nodded.

"Ok." He said, laying his head on the floor to stare up at the ceiling. Ed followed the actions, feeling the cool ground underneath him, relaxing his tense back muscles. He listened to his body for the first time in a while, feeling what it has to say. His right leg was tired, really tired and he could feel the lactic acid making it feel like jelly. Why did it feel this way? He hadn't done much in these cells... So what happened beforehand? Moving on, his left leg felt oddly comfortable, he couldn't even feel the port on his skin and that would always be a starting point for a good day. His abdomen gave another twist at the slightest bit of attention, so Ed moved on without much contemplation, onto his chest. It hurt. He wasn't going to lie that it hurt a lot. It throbbed painfully with every heartbeat, the heartbeat the reminded him that he was still alive, still Ed and still able to be with his brother. Heh. So much for that. He needed to get out of here. His left arm felt tired like his leg, he was just so tired, exhausted even. He couldn't feel his right arm, obviously. Stupid piece of junk. He'll remember to tell Winry of this, but she'll ask for an explanation which he doesn't have...

Winry, Ed wondered if she even knew that he was gone, that automail junkie was probably working away on some limb or another, as the slow day creeps on in quiet Risenbool... He had to get out.

Ed hadn't realised that his eyes had closed until they snapped open at his name.

"Edward!" Mia squeaked as she sat herself down next to him, panting and out of breath from her game of chase with Kalyn, who accompanied her. "Your eyes are really yellow! Like gold! Why?" She said, looking straight into his golden orbs. Ed frowned.

"I got them from my... My father. He has the same coloured eyes... As me." He said, forcing the words that he has denied for so long from his mouth. Why did he have to look so much like that bastard? That man is no father of his. There was no way that he would be associated with him. Roy saw his struggle but why was Ed so against his father?

"Oh! Do you love your daddy then?" Kalyn said.

"No." Ed said harshly. "He doesn't love me, so why the heck should I waste my time with him? Clearly the bastard didn't want me... Didn't want us... And not even at mom's funeral..." Ed trailed off, feeling his emotions bubbling to the limits of his control. Now wasn't the time for a family rant. There was an uncomfortable silence that followed, and the kids just sat there, wide eyed and silent, as if Ed was telling the most interesting story, until Mikey finally spoke up.

"So... You're just like us then, aren't you?" He whispered. Ed sighed.

"Mmm. I guess I am."

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**I am so annoyed. See, I have this plan on what I'm supposed to write about in every chapter. What you have just read, that wasn't it. Not anything I wanted to reveal was shown in this chapter. DAMN THIS STORY, GETTING ME ALL CAUGHT UP AND WRITING STUFF THAT IS NOT PART OF THE PLAN! not cool, bro, not cool... HOWEVER! I may or may not be able to get back on track by the end of the next chapter. It'll be fun to find out though, won't it? anyway, I hope you liked it! Now go and make yourself some tea or something and just be content, because relaxation is the key to happiness. Trust me, I know, I've done research. (not really, I just read a book) yay! 'see' you later, friends! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**YELLOW! (it's a colour AND a greeting) how was your week? ALL MY EXAMS ARE OVER WOOO! Friday is finally here and I am going to sleep 'till 1pm tomorrow. Then get up and ready in half an hour to go to a party cos my life is SO SUPER SOCIAL OMG IM A PARTY ANIMAL UP ALL NIGHT SLEEP ALL DAY! Yeah, my life's not like that. I'm a massive introvert. End of. Anyway, here's more of this story thing.**

**WOO PARTY!~**

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"Come on, Edward, we need to go to sleep now, it's night time." Kalyn tugged on Ed's sleeve as she got up from the floor. The light had just gone off sometime during their conversations on the floor and so it was pitch dark in the cells, signalling it was time to sleep and the children were all making their way to the bed. All except Ed.

"Nah, it's ok... I'll just sleep here..." He mumbled. He was so tired, and no matter how much he wanted to get into a bed to sleep, he simply couldn't move. He hadn't had any food in Gate knows how long and he felt seriously off, like he'd puke at any minute. But he knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon, there was absolutely nothing left to bring back up, and he could feel it.

"No, come on Edward, you can't sleep on the floor." Mikey said, grabbing his arm and pulling Ed into a sitting position. There was no way that he was going to let Ed sleep on the hard cold floor, not after all Ed had said to them, each word bringing him closer to them. And that promise, that promise that Ed will never leave them, it had given Mikey a hope which he hasn't felt since master took them, but since then Mikey has noticed that every day, every sleep that would go by and no fun came and no daylight seen he would lose the hope that kept him happy in Cillian Street. There was a chance there that someone would take him away and save him from... That place. But here, he saw no one; he didn't even know where he was. He was so shut off from the world that the chance of saviour was lost.

Then Edward and Mister Roy came. People, who he had never met before, people who had lived outside, which could bring new hope with their bigger, stronger frames and louder voices. And they had promised, Ed had promised to get them out. And now Edward was sick, and seeing him in pain broke Mikey's heart.

"Yet your ass off the floor, Elric. You're not sleeping on the floor." Roy said from his bed, overhearing the conversation from the children's cell. Mikey pulled Ed to his feet where he swayed for a while, his automail leg giving a more constant support than his flesh leg.

"Man, I'm hungry..." He said as Mikey pulled him towards the bed, which he complied quite easily to and immediately sunk into the mattress. "You guys have a massive bed, you know that?" He said, taking off his boots and top two layers of red and black, leaving him in his tank top and pants.

Mikey climbed over the bed, to the other side of Ed where Mia and Kalyn lay, already tucked in and silently watching the two boys.

"Edward?" Mia whispered as the blond collapsed into the pillow, letting out a hard sigh as he did so. He was unbelievably tired.

"... Yeah?" He said through the pillow, so his voice came out muffled. Mia scooted closer to him until she was right beside the boy, causing Mikey to have to move between her and Kalyn.

"Can I sleep next to you please?" Ed looked up from the pillow, into the eager girl's eyes and almost frowned.

"Uh, yeah sure, if you want... But, uhh, see I have this arm that gets really cold in the night so I don't want it to bother you... And... And also I have those nightmares, like earlier... BUT I WON'T HIT YOU I PROMISE! It's just so you know, Ok?" He said and turned on his side to face the girl, but avoiding any eye contact. He hadn't shared a bed with anyone since he was a baby, and it would be an understatement to say that his sleeping had changed slightly.

Mia nodded and crawled closer to Ed, so closed that she ended up curled up against his chest. "I love you, Edward. Did you know that?" She mumbled as her eyes fluttered closed and breathing slowed. The blond stared at the baby. How could she just say that so openly, they'd practically just met...? But, she was such a sweet little girl, and Ed felt like he couldn't deny that he felt a bond with her too.

He glanced around the bed, he was on the end, the side with the cell, and to his left lay Mia, her thumb had found her mouth and small sucking sounds that would only be audible to Ed at his close range could be heard. Mikey lay next to her, on his back and already fast asleep as his limbs spread out starfish-style. Kalyn lay on the other end near the wall, curled up on her side much like Mia as she hugged the blanket. It looked so peaceful that Ed found himself falling asleep just looking at it. He fell onto his back, letting out a sigh as all his energy flowed into the bed and his eyes finally sunk closed, he felt so unbelievably drained that he couldn't believe that he had stayed awake for so long until now. The baby stirred in his arm so she had her head on his shoulder, not that he noticed that much anyway. His arm ended up wrapping around her and pulling her warmth closer, not that he noticed that either, he was already too far gone...

Mia's head was jolted as Ed jerked in his sleep, still wrapped in his strong arm; she woke up to see his face in a deep scowl. Sweat dripped from his face and his arm had a thin sheen to it too, not that she cared.

"Edward?" She whispered, getting to her hands and knees under the sheets to see her friend better. He must be having one of those nightmares he was talking about. She turned to find Mikey, but the boy was still fast asleep, and she knew that waking him up would be mean... But Edward was upset... She reached up and wiped her hand over his face, moving any hair that had stuck to his forehead, causing him so mumble and let out a little yelp as he tensed again. She looked at Ed; she wished she could make it better for him... He had been so nice to her and she loved him like a brother already.

Slowly, she lifted her head and place a small kiss on his cheek, before lying back down and snuggling close to his waist and placing her head on his chest. Ed mumbled a little more, but no tenses his time, instead, his shoulders relaxed and his jaw unclenched, all traces of a scowl slipped from his face and he breathed a little easier. His arm once again wrapped around the girl and held her close as she fell back into her dreamland.

"Thank you, Mia."

The tray of bread was placed at the end of the cell, no gate was opened but instead the food was left on the other side of the bars. Three children waited until Master had left before they climbed over Ed and out of bed and making their way sleepily to where the five pieces of bread lay.

"We should wake Mister Roy and Edward, or else their food will go cold." Kalyn said, taking two pieces of bread in her hands and going to the cell division bars, ready to call out to Roy who was still asleep in his bed, messy black hair spilling onto his pillow and mouth hanging open slightly. His shirt had been unbuttoned sometime during the night and so he slept in his military trousers and crumpled and dirty shirt, his blue jacket and boots lay next to the bed. Kalyn watched his deep breaths for a while, studying his peacefulness. "Why do grownups sleep for so long?" She mused out loud.

"Dunno, but it looks like Edward is the same. Is he a grown up? He's too small to be a real one, not as big as Master or Mister Roy. Do you think Edward would sleep longer or Mister Roy?" Mikey said, coming to stand next to her, a sleepy Mia in tow as she held his free hand with hers. "Besides, maybe we shouldn't wake up Edward, 'cause he was super tired yesterday, plus he's had the sick spike so he won't be able to eat it anyway."

"... Oh yeah." Kalyn turned back to the bars. "Mister Roy! Are you awake?!" She called to the man who stirred slightly, moving his arm to rest over his face in the crook of the elbow. He let out a quiet moan as he finally opened his eyes.

"Damn, I'm still in THIS place..." He said, rubbing his eyes and spotted the children by the bars. "Huh? What is it?" He asked, figuring it had been them waking him up, despite the fact that all he really wanted to do is sleep.

"Master has left food, here is yours." Kalyn held that small loaf of bread out to Roy, who rubbed his eyes again before judging the distance between himself and the food. Nope, too far.

"How good's your throw?" He said, holding his hands out in a structure effective for catching. Kalyn's eyes grew.

"Uhh... Are you sure...?" She asked. Roy shrugged.

"Go for it."

The bread was pulled back before the 5 year old threw the loaf as hard as she could across the cell. It was pretty good for a 5 year old, landing just a meter in front of Roy where he quickly swiped it up and slipped back under the blanket.

"Nice throw, thanks a lot." He said, biting into his food, five second rule, after all. The girl beamed at the compliment and giggled.

"Thank you!" She said, finally biting into her own loaf. "Oh! Wait, Edward isn't going to be able to have his again. Do you want it? 'Cause you're bigger anyways." She asked. Roy looked over to the blond alchemist, lying so still and limply as his automail trailed to the ground from the edge of the bed that he could have been dead. That kid must have been really tired to be sleeping so deeply... Looking back to the kids, he determined that he couldn't take any food from their skinny frames and not get killed from his conscience.

"No, no you guys have it." He said eventually, completely dumbstruck that they would even offer. They must be starving.

"Can I have some?" Mia tugged on the hem of Mikey's shirt, looking up to her elder pretend siblings with pleading eyes.

"You have to finish your piece first, and we will too then we can split Edward's, ok?" Mikey explained, crouching down to give Mia her loaf which she took gratefully and immediately started to eat it like it was the best thing since... Well one couldn't really say sliced bread...

The rapidly becoming familiar sound of the heavy metal door opening filled the cells as Master's presence was announced.

"Oh Gate." Roy whispered. What the hell did he want now?! Roy didn't miss the subtle movements that Mikey made to try and keep the two girls behind him as the man approached the children's cell. A key was pulled out of his lab coat pocket and the gate was swung open. 'Oh jeez, he's going to take another one.' Roy thought.

The whole room watched as the man made his way to the bed at the back corner of the cell. 'Shit, no. Not Fullmetal again.' The teenager's limp body was scooped up under the stranger's arm, as of that was the only way he knew how to transport a human being. Roy couldn't take it. Not the kid again.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing to my subordinate?!" Roy shot to his feet and stormed over to the division bars, giving the best stare he could muster to the man who walked over to him, only inches away of not for the bars.

"Fuhrer Bradley. You work under him, yes?" It was the first words that had been heard from the man, his voice was scratchy and rough, almost menacing.

"What's it to you?"

"His son, Selim, where does he stay?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have a clue, so why don't you go put down that boy and find out on your own." Roy said. The stare he got from this response was about to make even this cold hearted Colonel shudder, but it was quickly averted as the man made a turn and, with a tight grip on Ed, began to leave the cell.

"Put... Me down... You bastard." Ed whispered, having been woken up by the recent man handling.

"Come on Fullmetal, are you just gonna let him take you again?!" Roy shouted after the boy as he was taken out of the cell. Ed responded to the call, grabbed onto the gate with his only arm, holding onto the bar with all the strength he could manage, which was enough apparently. Master actually put him down, setting him on his feet and took a step back.

Ed realised his mistake a second too late, his legs were too exhausted to hold his weight anymore, crumpling under him and sending him to the ground. The bar was forgotten as Ed held out his arm to try and catch him, but he still ended up on his face, he was just too tired to do anything anymore. Who cares anyway? What's so bad with this guy taking him anyway? He'll get back and then maybe he might be able to sleep...

The teenager was again grabbed around the waist and hoisted into the carrying position before Master stalked out of the room, shutting the door behind him and the cells were left in a thick silence again.

'He just... Gave up.' Roy thought. 'How could he just... Give up?'

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**That little scene with Mia in the night, yeah that was a perfect example of me going off track and getting lost in the story, so if you think it was short and pointless, that's cause it was and I forced myself back onto the plot but didn't feel like taking it out. You're welcome. So, err... did you like this chapter? Would you like anything specific in the next chapter? I am so happy right now, thank you so much guys. for real, yo.**

**Have a great weekend, OK? hope you guys keep smiling and I'll 'see' you next time. YAY!**


	9. Chapter 9

**HELLO.**

**:D ~**

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'This is perfect.' Ed thought sarcastically as Master or whatever he's called turned a corner in the hallway he'd only been down once before, consciously, at least. 'I wonder what the hell this guy is planning. What the hell does he want with me anyway?' He thought. The silence between them was unnerving, but then again, everything about this man was unnerving. 'Last time it was a shot right? Mikey called it the 'sick shot' or whatever, so what does this guy actually do?'

They passed through the door, and Ed had to shut his eyes before they adjusted to the sudden bright light of the lab, everything was a bright, clean white and completely the opposite of the dark and dirty cells. Ed let out a grunt as he was dropped onto the metal table and strapped onto it, just like the last time. But this time there was a lot less struggle from Ed's side, he was too exhausted, hungry and sore to even move.

"What now?" Ed asked in a quiet, strained voice to the man as he finished the restraint on his left leg, so held in a starfish shape, Ed watched the man walk over to a table full of instruments and picked up a needle head and a small plastic test tube.

'Fuck.' Was Ed's only real response to the approaching threat. This was so so bad. Needles, Ed hated them. And now that he knew what the one before had done to him, there was no way in hell he wanted to repeat it. He was so hungry, he was exhausted beyond compare and he didn't know how much longer he would be able to feel the pain of his chest before his body fell into numbness. And even though he could feel the panic rising in his chest and throat, his tired body gave no movement. He had to just lie there, lie there and watch as the man took the blood sample from his arm, filling the cylinder with thick, red liquid in a heartbeat before taking it out and placing it in a rack alongside three others.

Ed could feel the glare coming before the eyes even met, and as they did Ed's stomach nearly gave another lurch. He was afraid. His mind couldn't lie that he was scared of this man, with a face so neutral that unpredictability, the root of all human fears, was all that could be found. Damn it! Why the hell did he have to come here?! Of all places to get locked up, why was it here? Why now?! And why can't he just escape? He needs to get out. He needs to get back to Al in one piece or else everything he's worked for has gone to scrap. This is so, so bad.

"Elric." Ed's head shot up at his name, finding Master coming to stand next to the table the Ed was strapped to. "Age?" The one worded question was left hanging in the air as Ed weighed the pros and cons of answering... After he had said his response.

"Why'd you wanna know?" He blurted out, although the strength in his voice was rather lacking. Ed spotted a small glint from the man's hand, and in a flash he had a hand gripping his forehead. Ed's eyes widened, this was just like... Just like his encounter with Scar. He was so vulnerable now. 'Oh shit. Wh-what is he going to do-'

Ed's head was crashed back onto the table with such force that it sent his world spinning. He could feel it being lifted again before it was thrown back down. Pain surged from the impacts, sending his head into a buzzing mess and all thoughts disintegrated. Ed shut his eyes, but there was nothing to shy out the feeling of nausea that accompanied the throbbing sensation that resounded behind his eyeballs.

"Age?" The man spoke again.

"Fifteen." Came the answer almost immediately. Had that just been Ed's voice? He couldn't think, it was spinning too hard, he couldn't even feel his body anymore. He wished it would stop... His head... His mind...

"Blood relations?" Another question was fired at Ed.

"... Blood... Relations?" He echoed, processing the words in his mind, but apparently there was no time for processing. The glint from the hand earlier shot up and glided across Ed's collarbone. Ed gasped as he felt the blade drag across the bone, cutting his skin and leaving a deep red line in its wake. Ed's breathing picked up as he saw the scalpel rise from under his neck and the cold air hit the shallow cut on his chest.

"Blood relations?" Now more of a harsh statement than a curious question.

"B-brother. And fa-father." He chocked. Adrenaline pouring through his veins, Ed's heartbeat began to slow. It was near his neck, not on it. He was still alive. But this guy was fast and accurate... What even does he practice?

"Names?" Like hell.

Ed spat in the direction of the man, despite his ultimate fear of him, there was no way he was going to put Al in danger with this guy. There was no way.

The man grunted and took a needle of the instrument table, clearly frustrated with the determined look in the teenager's eyes. But that was gone as soon as the golden orbs settled on the pointed metal. He knew what was coming next. Damn, not again.

In one swift motion the needle glided into Ed's bound arm, the contents emptied and the needle pulled out again. And Ed felt the liquid burning through his veins like acid. He'd felt it once before but that didn't ease the throbbing agony that entered his body. He hissed as he felt it run up his arm and into his chest, his heart lit on fire as his body finally moved voluntarily, convulsing and squirming against the binds and trying to take on a defensive position. His whole body was slowly burning and a rough scream escaped from his lips, his voice was hoarse and so it hurt him more, but he couldn't stop it. He couldn't stop the pain, couldn't stop trying to stop it, he writhed and that in turn ended up jostling his ribs. It hurt, it hurt from the inside and that was worse. Why? Why him? Why now? Please... Make it stop...

... Make it... Stop... Ed's thoughts began to slow along with his movements as the pain ebbed away into numbness. He couldn't feel anything again. He caught sight of the man untying his binds but the blackness was fast engulfing his vision. He was going to pass out.

Ed's eyes slid closed, his breathing slowed back down to the very slow pace of the last encounter and his body went completely limp. This guy had done it again, put something inside him that shouldn't be there.

It really shouldn't be there.

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**OK, firstly: I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING! It's just that I tried to write the chapter how valorycruz asked me to, in the first person but I found it so difficult that I lost the will to try for 4 days. So then I deleted what I'd written and started again, but my mind was not in writing mode and I had no inspiration and so I tried my bestest and this is what happened. Moral of this excuse: I cant write in first person. **

**Secondly: this chapter is really sucky and so I would like it if maybe you could give me some pointers to rewrite it? It's not too late so I can still edit it and reupload. :) **

**Lastly: I love you 3**

**BYE-BYE.**


	10. Chapter 10

**This is the first chapter that I've typed in my laptop EVER! Therefore I have had a lot of fun with the italics that aren't available on my phone :D**

**Enjoy these lovely _italics_~**

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"... Come on Fullmetal, how long are you..."

"... Mister Roy? Is Edward...?"

_'Huh? Why are the voices so quiet? C'mon, speak up will ya? I heard my name...'_

"... It looks like he's had... But I can't tell if..."

"... Why is he there? How come Edward was put with you?"

_'That's it, I can hear them better now, but I wish someone would uncover my ears... This is so annoying. I bet I can do it myself, right? I just need to open my eyes...'_

"Wait, he's waking up I think."

"Edward! Are you ok?!"

_'I'm fine Kalyn... But my eyes are too tired to open. But... I guess that's ok... I can sleep anyway, I feel sleepy...'_

Slap. Slap, slap. Slap, slap, slap.

"Come on Fullmetal, stay with us. Open your eyes, you can do it."

_'That bastard colonel. Stop slapping my face... Can't you see that I...'_ Slap. _'That I want to...'_ Slap. _'To sleep...'_ Slap, slap. _'FOR THE LOVE OF-'_

"WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT?!"

"Ah, so you're finally awake?" Roy took his hand down from its previous position of inches from Ed's cheek. "Open your eyes." His tone suddenly went from mocking to stern at such a degree that a quick knot of anxiety slipped in and out of Ed's stomach.

As the golden eyes opened, Ed found that he had to blink a few times before he was able to focus on the figure sitting on the ground next to him. "Hey... What are you doing in-"

"In my cell? Hm what a great question." Roy interjected. Gesturing with a hand at his surroundings, those of which Ed followed in observing. There, near the division bars stood the three children, all clinging to the metal cage and staring at Ed with eyes that were large with concern. So, he really was in Mustang's cell.

"What the...? Why the hell was I put in here?" Ed tried to sit up, only to fall back down as his automail arm was... Still shot, and consequently, didn't hold him. Ed crashed back down, but the impact wasn't nearly as harsh as every single other time that he had taken a trip to the world of concrete grounds. In fact... It felt distinctly like... A bed. He was in Mustang's bed.

"Hell if I know. As if that guy would tell me the motives of anything he does, but you're here now." He looked at Ed, "I wasn't very well going to let you lie, passed out, on the floor for about 2 hours." Roy said, picking up on Ed's look of confusion... Or disgusted embarrassment, whichever he was better at reading. Ed glared at the man.

"Oh yeah? Just like your 'kind heart' came to help me when Scar attacked your youngest subordinate?" He spat. "Oh no wait, it was raining that day wasn't it? HA! Imagine the Colonel Bastard doing something HELPFULL on a rainy day!"

"Oh so what? You expected me to come and pick you up. Brush you off and set you back of your little legs like a three year old-"

"HEY! I can stand up all by myself! DID. YOU. KNOW. THAT?!" Mia screamed across the cells, clearly offended by the insult against her age group. Ed giggled at the angry pout that covered the tiny girl's face; she was just so emotionally full of life. "What?!" she snapped, further angered by the laugh.

"Nothing Mia, but wow, you can really do that? that's good!" Ed praised, looking over from this position on the bed as he sat up, more tactfully this time. She deserved at least a little praise for all that effort she put into making that point, her whole body almost shook with fury, and it was quite a sight.

"Are you OK Edward? Do you feel sick again?" Mikey called, Eyes still plastered on his recently detached cell-mate.

"hmm... Yeah, I guess, I feel fine enough..." Ed mumbled. He turned and made to get off the bed, pushing himself to his feet from the mattress.

"Hey, hey, hey! Watch yourself, Fullmetal! Just hold on a moment we don't know what-" It was worth a try, but when did Ed ever listed to such pointless orders like that? Never. And so, as the blond got to his feet, his chest gave a throb of pain and his vision blurred again. His head quickly felt light and his body stopped listening to such a weak unit of control. As Ed crashed to the floor, the tension rose to almost breaking point in milliseconds.

_'His chest! His head! How many blows can his kid stand?! DAMN IT WHAT IS GOING THROUGH HIS VIENS? WHATS GOING THROUGH HIS HEAD?' _Roy's thoughts went to overdrive as he knew that, no matter how he moved, he wouldn't make it. But that didn't stop him from trying. faster. move, move, _move! _

"EDWARD!" Ed heard the cries. Those voices, so young. So scared. Just... Just like Alphonse...

_"ED!" _

_"ALPHONSE!" _So scared_. "HE'S MY LITTLE BROTHER DAMNIT! GIVE HIM BACK!"_

_And there it was: that... That THING. His mother... How could his mother be turned into something so disgusting? His fault. His fault. Disgusting. Oh no, it's reaching for him, it's coming for him, he can feel it now on his skin, yanking and holding. Those mangled hands, distorted and broken. His fault. Oh please... Oh please let go, don't touch anymore, he can't take it, the smell, the blood, the monster. This blood, it won't ever leave him, it hasn't left him yet, and it's back, soaking his clothes, staining his skin._

_"Open your eyes" It says, voice warped, hot breath stinging his cheek like acid. No. No it's closer now, holding him in an embrace from the back, and he could feel it, feel the disjointed bones, the convulsing organs pulsing against his cold back. Let go. Let go. LET GO._

"EDWARD OPEN YOUR EYES!" Roy screamed at the shrieking, panicking boy in his arms. He had caught him, gotten there fast enough and caught Ed. But on contact, Ed's hold on reality seemed to have slipped and he lost his awareness as he started to shake, uncontrollable shudders as his eyes had squeezed shut. He struggled from Roy's hold, but seeing the tears that had begun to stream down the dirty face, he only held on tighter. Something was definitely wrong in Edward's head.

In a flash it was over. Ed's eyes burst open as a hard, ragged gasp tore down his throat. He was OK, in the place that he remembered; He couldn't feel the blood, the organs, the breath. But there was still a hold; oh shit there was a hold. Someone or something was holding him. Can't look back, don't look back!

"... Edward? Are you alright?" That voice... Roy? From behind, close. Roy was holding him; it was just... just Mustang. "Can you hear me? Edward?" Questioning, that voice is so soft... I'm OK. "...Edward?"

"Y-yes?" Ed's voice cracked with tension, he felt so confused... What was that? Why... Why did that happen right now? He could feel his chest rising and falling, and Mustang behind him, the ground below him, but he also felt so numb. He was shaking, but he couldn't move.

"Hey... look at me. are you OK?" Roy had to be careful with Ed right now; he wasn't dumb when it came to the likes of trauma. And he couldn't help it, just looking at him... his scared, teary eyes and his shaking body... How can you ignore this? How can what happened just be ignored? Something was wrong with Ed. The blond turned his head to look at Roy, slowly, hesitantly, and met his gaze. He gave a small nod, Serving as proof for both of them that he was OK. Ed relaxed a little, but he was tired, so it didn't stop at a little and Ed practically collapsed into Roy. His head lolled onto Roy's chest and the added weight meant Roy had to use an arm to prop himself up, but he wasn't going to reject this development just yet, he could almost feel Ed's exhaustion flow from him in waves.

He'd seen this before, this type of trauma to the point of... hallucinating. Flashes of a long gone past, a time of great grief or pain. In fact, he knew the feeling well. So there was a reaction that he had learnt in order to bring the victim back to themselves again. To bring people like Ed back from their hidden worlds of pain and fear.

And there was the answer. Ed had been injected with the hallucinogenic fluid. Roy sighed and looked over to the kids; they were going to have to watch this. At least they weren't in the same cell-

Oh. That man was smarter than he let on.

* * *

**I know... I know it's short... And I know I disappeared for two weeks... But, in truth, I was a little scared . BECAUSE I knew this was a chapter which a lot of people have been waiting for ever since I implied it in chapter 5, so I was a lit****tle afraid that I wouldn't be able to meet expectations! BUT thanks to my new friend Narutofangirl15, I got a bunch of ideas, and a motivation to start, so THANK YOU! :) (CHECK IT OUT, BRO! ITS NOT TOMORROW!... ok well it is but I don't think 2.30AM counts.) And I only started this chapter at 10PM yesterday so I have actually been doing NOTHING for this entire time. I'm really sorry.**

** Also, if you asked if this was gonna have rape in it, I don't think it will. BUT I can really see how it could work in this story! So thanks for the suggestion and I haven't ignored them, I'm really sorry but A) I don't think I can write something like that very well and B) T****he subject of rape hits quite close to home, and I don't think I can mentally and emotionally feel ok when I write it. IM REALLY SORRY! **

**In addition to this, as per usual, I am asking you to please tell me what I could have done better, made longer/shorter, emphasised more to get a story that's better to read :) **

**On that note, I am going to leave you for now, creep downstairs to get fresh underwear (no one has done laundry for 2 weeks), turn off the playlist that has been of repeat for 6 hours straight and hop into bed. GOOD NIGHT! *morning***


	11. Chapter 11

**HOW IS THIS ALREADY CHAPTER 11?! EL-LEV-EN!**

**So, um, yeah... I'm still here. :D I BET YOU SAW THIS NOTIFCATION AND WAS LIKE "AWW SNAP!" Well... I am here, and I brought a new chapter with me. So I hope I didn't disappoint you! Have fun reading ok?!**

**After like 2 weeks~**

* * *

Ed remained there, leaning against the seated Mustang on the ground in the position in which he had been caught. No one knew how long exactly they stayed like that for, but eventually the children who were watching intently turned and started to play some kind of clapping game.

Roy looked down at Ed, his golden head rested on Roy's dirty white shirt, lying heavily on his chest. At times, Ed would make small, single movements but the collection had caused him to have shifted himself into a sideways sit. Facing perpendicular to Roy's position where he has sat still since, apparently comfortable.

They didn't speak, Roy knew the risks of drawing concentration from those who were trying to order their thoughts and contain their emotions before they were finished. And Ed was doing exactly this, occasionally his breath would hitch, and he would jerk slightly but his superior would simply tighten his one armed grip on the blond momentarily before releasing again.

"Mustang?" Ed finally broke the silence between them, but the shakiness in his voice didn't console Roy at all.

"What's wrong?" He said, making sure to keep his voice quiet and soft, the last thing Ed needed now was a shout to send him reeling.

"Th... There isn't a dried out corpse here... Is there?" He whispered to the man, his eyes widening as details became clear and reality became just a concept. Roy tensed at the question. So Ed hasn't been gaining control at all, but instead fighting for a grip on it. Roy felt anger bubble up in his chest, how dare that bastard use his subordinate this way. How dare he cause this child to feel the fear that he was trying to forget. "I-it's one like what the Freezing Alchemist had caused... All... All the water has evaporated..." Ed continued. "But...it's not real. Right?" The phatic token was accompanied by the boy's hand reaching up to grab the Colonel's shirt. Ed was simply looking for any assurance that he wasn't in any danger, and that it wasn't real. It wasn't real.

_but it looked so... So... Dead. It was so dead. The flesh was a deep maroon colour, wrapping tightly around the bones like Clingfilm. And the face, the lips were curled up against the teeth, showing them in a way that looked like the victim was smiling, grinning at Ed, lying to him. There was nothing happy about this. The eyeballs hung from their sockets, reduced to the form similar to that of a raisin as they were held in by the thin thread that would have served as the optical nerve._

_Ed could hear it: the crackling and scratching of the paper-thin skin as an arm moved, stretching out towards Ed. it was going to touch him. It was moving now, dragging its own corpse across the concrete flooring. Reaching for him, it's going to touch, going to touch. It's so close now. The charred flesh..._

"No, Edward, there isn't anything there. Can you look away from it? Maybe just close your eyes-?"

"NO! No... I don't wanna close my eyes. B-bastard... I can keep my eyes open. I've seen worse, this isn't scary... I-it's not even real." Roy frowned at Ed, unable to figure out if his denial was a good or bad thing. Watching as Ed started to squirm in his arms, he would make small whimpering sounds as he tugged down on his black tank top with his one arm. Roy saw him bite his lip as he started to writhe, eyes squeezing shut despite his own words. He kept an iron grip of the hem on did shirt, yanking it down and keeping it there.

"Do you want to sit on the bed or something? Against the wall?" Roy couldn't help but ask, he was getting elbowed and kneed and it was starting to annoy him. Ed just stiffened at the offer. "Wait, what's wrong? Why are you squirming so much?" Roy mentally slapped himself. Duh! Why else would the kid do something as helpless as this unless... It had something to do with that injection.

"N- ah! Nothing!" Ed jerked and kept his arm clamped down on his shirt.

"You're not fooling me. Is it that corpse? Tell me what you see, Edward." Ed opened his eyes, flinching at his view before quickly averted his eyes back to Roy.

"It... It's right here... It's touching me... I can feel it..." He said, voice strained with fear and panic. Roy's eyes widened.

"Dammit Fullmetal why didn't you tell me it was moving?!" He didn't mean to sound harsh, but he could find the energy to hide his frustration at this point. Without another word, Roy slipped his arms underneath the wriggling boy and stood up, carrying him in a bridal position. "Ok, does that help? Is it still on the floor?" He asked, looking down to Ed in his arms. The boy just nodded while keeping his eyes locked on the ground. "Fine, here." Roy walked over to the wall, placing Ed down against it before sitting down in front of him. "If I sit here, it won't be able to get to you, right? So just tell me where it is and I'll block it off. Sound good?" He said.

"Uh.. Yeah, sure." Ed mumbled, eyes dancing between the Colonel, the body making its way over from his previous position and the children who had come to sit in line with their friends' new position. He was hoping to find something, anything to keep his mind occupied.

"How do you feel, Fullmetal? How is your chest, are the bruises going away? They're broken right, your ribs? It must hurt. Do you remember anything from before we got here? Are you hungry? We haven't got any food... Never mind. Are you tired? Why don't you have a rest, these hallucinations must be taking it out of you." Roy was trying to get Ed to become a little more self-aware rather than focus on his surroundings, that way Ed could maybe get a grip on his own imagination. The way Ed seemed to be battling his own consciousness was tiring Roy out just watching him, it wouldn't be long until Ed's mind gave out to exhaustion, and he guessed they were kind of lucky to have only come across two of Ed's fears. But both of them looked like they really freaked him out. Ed turned back to Roy, surprised by the barrage of questions.

"Huh? Oh, right. Uh... Well the pain kinda comes and goes, it might have something to do with the drugs, so I'm not really sure of the severity at the moment..." Ed trailed off as he glanced behind Roy, golden eyes sharp and alert.

"What's wrong? Where is it?"

"Uh... Nowhere... I think it's gone now." Ed said, visibly relaxing as he leant onto the wall and his tense muscles rested. Roy sighed, at least it was over for now. Maybe this actually had an effect.

"Ok, well show me the bruises, we might be able to track the damage through those." Roy said, also calming a bit as Ed relaxed.

Ed nodded, lifting up his shirt to reveal the three bruises that stained his skin. Both of them scowled at the way that it went from a dark purple, almost black on the inside, to purple, to red and then to green lining the edges. How could it have gotten this bad?!

"Shit. We should have done something earlier-"

"You know what Mustang? It doesn't really hurt that much right now, and I'm pretty tired anyway so why don't I just sleep it off? Besides, we couldn't have done anything earlier anyway, what do we have that we could have used?" Ed said, lowering his shirt and getting to his feet. "We're going to get out of here, and then I'll go get fixed. There's no point worrying now."

"How can you say that?! If your ribs really are broken, who knows what kind of damage they could be doing to your organs?! You idiot! The fact that it doesn't hurt makes it even worse!" Roy got to his feet too, staring Ed in the eyes, far too frustrated with everything to keep calm. He sighed. "Look, you're injured, and simply ignoring it will only cause more trouble. And we have no idea how long it will take until we get out of here-"

"We're getting out tomorrow." Ed said, all traces of his trauma gone and replaced with the same fire that keeps those golden eyes ablaze. "I can't stand staying in this place any longer. We're getting out." Ed looked over to the children, Mikey, Kalyn and Mia, their skinny frames and eyes that had seen too much. They were getting out too. And Al, he must be so worried. Damn it all.

"How the hell do you plan on achieving that, huh?!" Roy shouted, frustration flaring again. This boy was driving him insane. He couldn't handle it anymore. They were trapped, and Roy knew that there was no way that they could get out. Until either there was a chance to escape, or someone found them, they were stuck here. How much time had passed? How did they get caught? Did his squad know where he was? If he was even missing? He didn't know. He didn't know a single damn thing. Nothing.

Roy felt his heartbeat pick up. He knew nothing. He was so helpless, so vulnerable. He clenched his fists as frustration was poured into his chest along with anger. How did this happen?! Why? Why now?! Why him?! Why... Why Fullmetal? It was too much. Too much that he couldn't control and Roy felt his body get hot, he was so angry. He was shaking. Shaking? With... Anger. Right? Anger that he didn't have a clue. But... He didn't know what was going to happen. Everything was beyond his predictability. Unpredictable. The core of all things that pull out the human emotion of... Of fear. Everything was so unpredictable. So... So he was afraid.

Before Roy could think, he had lifted his fist and driven it into the wall in front of him as he cursed.

"FUCK THIS!" He screamed, his eyes were shut tightly, his breathing heavy and harsh as his heart thundered in his chest. He wasn't afraid. He wasn't afraid. He was NOT afraid.

"M-Mustang?" Ed's voice rang through Roy's roaring mind, all sound stopped at the sudden outburst. Roy opened his eyes instantly at the sound of Ed's small shocked voice. What he saw made him stumble back, nearly falling over. He had landed the punch on the wall, but his fist had been not two inches from Ed's face. Now the boy stood, paralysed in shock as his superior had almost lashed out on him.

"F-Fullmetal... I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Roy saw Ed's eyes widen, staring right through the Colonel, the golden eyes becoming panicked as Ed sunk to the floor. His hand was shaking, no his whole body, so hard that his broken arm began to rattle with the loose parts. "Edward... I..."

"Mustang..." Ed breathed, so quiet that it could barely be heard. "It's starting again..." Ed's breath hitched as he took in a ragged breath, eyes showing nothing but the terror that was embedded within his very soul, before letting out a blood freezing scream. Ed had hoped, wished, and PRAYED that he would never have to see this horror again... Not again...

* * *

**Yeah... Oops? **

**I was stuck. So I thought "Lets do a barely realistic, half dramatic ROY TANTRUM!" Well, oops. that didn't go too well... But hay! It got me to finish the chapter, right?! YAY! So, do you think they will get out tomorrow? WELL IM NOT TELLING YOU BECAUSE I HAVENT FIGURED IT OUT YET. I've had two paths for this story for the entire time, hoping that I might pick one on the before this point in the story but... That didn't happen. OOPS! That is very bad Author-ing on my behalf. THEREFORE! I shall be eagerly awaiting the next chapter with you, I can't wait to see how it turns out! :D Don't get your hopes too high though, I don't wanna disappoint you. YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME! **

**I figured that if I get famous, my fanbase will be called the ALLYgators. **

**Jog on, mates!**

***while writing this A/N, I have figured out the progression of the story. YAY!* I'll see your gorgeous electronic pen names next time, ok? Stay smiling!**

**ALSO CONGRATS TO ZAKUROU WHO HAS FINISHED HER STORY 'FREEZING COLD' EVERYONE SHOULD GO READ IT RIGHT NOW IT'S AMAZING.**


	12. Chapter 12

**BOOSH! I've done it! Rewritten, revised and reuploaded. It may still need a bit of tweeking but the whole story does so I will get right onto that as soon as I'm finished here.**

**The tweeking will come later~**

* * *

"No..."

_It was there: right in front of him, exactly the same as before. _

"No, no, please no, no..."

_He knew what was coming; he knew that he couldn't stop it... Oh please... Please someone stop it, stop it from opening... The gate. The gate that held the whole universe behind its doors, ready to crush him under its weight. Ed looked around him frantically, holding with everything he had onto the reality that still remained. But it was slipping, HE was slipping, and the sight of his world disintegrating into white caused a scream to rip through his throat. He was alone. Everything that kept him away from this has crumbled and now there's nothing left to save him. _

_"Please!" He begged. "Please, not again! What do you want from me?!" Panic paralysed his body as the gates began to open, gliding apart as the darkness behind reached out to grab him. "I can't give you anything else! DON'T TAKE ANY MORE OF ME!" _

"PLEASE DON'T TAKE ANY MORE OF ME!" Ed screamed. Roy watched in shock as the boy began to claw at his body, his eyes filled with nothing but terror. "No! No get off of me! Don't touch me! I have nothing else to give you!" Ed had torn through his shirt, hands still ripping at his skin, pulling off the dark shadows that held only onto his soul.

_The pain. The pain of having your body ripped apart, on the third time round, it just might kill him. Oh shit, he REALLY didn't want to die here._

Ed's nails were beginning to pierce his skin, leaving red trails in their wake as he fought for what could be his life. Tearing, pulling, scratching, and yanking. Cutting, shredding, digging, lacerating. Roy watched in horror as Ed damaged his own body, blood starting to ooze from fresh slits in his skin. He sunk to his knees, knowing that the more he interfered, the worse Ed would become, so what can he do? He shouldn't have lashed out like that, not in front of Ed, not so close to him when Roy KNEW that he was battling his own subconscious. And even though this was his fault, he couldn't think of a way to help him. He was so damn useless.

Ed's screams thundered from his chest, filling the space with the pain that poured from his soul, and Roy hated it. He couldn't stand it. Images of small Ishvalen children raced through his mind, ones that he had killed himself. Children, just like Ed, so scared and alone until their bitter end; how did he have the authority to kill those people? To take those lives and play God. But now, with his hands already bloody from the slaughter, he found himself unable to reach for the one child in front of him.

Ed had lost too much and he looked like he couldn't take it, he couldn't take facing this fear again, but, Roy had known that from the start. Despite this, why was every scream, every cut that came from Ed's own body hurting Roy so much? Despite the fact that he knew that Ed was going to have to face his past at some point, and warning the boy of this, why, after all this time, was it hurting so much to watch what he'd known for so long?

Time. That was the key, that Roy has known Ed for enough time to get tangled in the boy's world, so much so that every fear that Ed had, Roy feared for the blonde's sake. There was no way, absolutely no way that Roy could look away from this and ignore it. But watching it was tearing him apart... But why? He'd seen it before. He should be used to it. Wrong. One should never get used to seeing others in pain, it's horrific. He'd seen it before, and that was the worst part of his being, he barely made it out alive, and here was the sight again, the fear, the screaming, the blood. All of it coming from someone he had called his subordinate.

Roy saw the children run to the bed, burying themselves in the safety of the blankets, away from the scene in the other cell, but honestly, Roy couldn't care less. His eyes focused back of Ed and in the same second, Ed focused his back on Roy. The screaming stopped and Roy's heart missed a beat as Ed held his gaze, looking through eyes glassed over with alarm but he was looking at Roy. Looking but not seeing. No... Wait...

"M-Mustang?" The voice slipped from Ed's lips, so small and careful, as if he was afraid that the simple name would blow Roy away and he'd be sucked back up into his nightmare. "Please... Help me..." Y_ou're my last hope_ is what not only the broken voice, but the tears that spilled from his eyes said to the Colonel.

Roy almost forgot where he was, everything he had was focused on Ed, his cry for help, the words that had never been heard from the strong boy's mouth, and that was it. He got to is feet, walking over to the boy before collecting his trembling body into his lap. It was true, he was completely tangled in Ed's world, and right now, that world was a wreck. Screw the injection, screw thinking logically, Ed had asked for help. That was all there is to it.

_Mustang was here, right there, and he saw staring at Ed through the eternal whiteness of the gate, the shadowed hands taking Ed's cut body into the gate melt away as Roy approaches him. He couldn't tell anymore... What was real and what wasn't. Roy was there, he could see him, but he couldn't focus on his face, it was a blur, a smudge and he couldn't see it. He couldn't see the face that had been in the background for years. The one that kept him running instead of walking. It was there, but it wasn't. And he could feel his body against Roy's, it was warm and cold at the same time. And he thought he could hear his voice... But the words were fuzzy and warped. He didn't understand-_

_Ed's head gave a throb and he lost his thoughts, a pain that washed his mind of everything and he didn't know where it came from. He didn't know. His hand found his head and there was so much noise rushing into his skull... It was his voice, he didn't know but he knew it. Pain and pressure filled his head and his vision fell victim to the war between flashing colours and empty darkness. His chest ached, breathe, he had to remember to breathe... It hurts... It hurts so much please someone stop it..._

_No... He couldn't ignore his chest anymore... It has become far too painful to breathe, to carry on this screaming that never stopped... _

Ed fell into the colonel's hold, all sound stopping bar the panting of the blond and the crying of the children.

_It's so loud..._

It wasn't a second later that Ed coughed up a mouthful of blood onto the floor next to him, Roy's eyes widened at the sight.

"No..." The Colonel whispered to no one. "His ribs..."

_It hurts so much..._

'There is no way that Ed is going to be ok after this.' Roy's thoughts rung clear through his head, finally. 'The stress on his mind is destroying his body...' Ed was shaking so hard, and his breathing was ragged and unrhythmic.

_And I'm so tired..._

"... Am I dying...?"

And finally, the darkness won over light, and took Ed's vision. He was left in his own darkness; the last thing he sensed before oblivion was the sound of Mustang's heartbeat echoing through his ears.

"Edward…" Roy stared at the limp alchemist in his arms. "I'll get you out of this place, I promise you that you will get out alive... Just please, don't give up until then... Please."

* * *

**BOOSH! I put that little quote in! (I meant to the first time but I wasn't thinking very straight at that point but IVE DONE IT NOW!) I bet you guys had forgotten about it. WELL I DIDN'T!**

**I hope that anyone who is re-reading this from last time finds it better than the first, I deleted a few paragraphs (so it's a lot shorter) like Amber Hastings said to lessen the repetitive-ness, and I made Roy do something eventually, and have calmed down the next chapter for InvisableNinja1234 (is it good enough?) and to ZakuroU, I am planning to reveal how they got there eventually, not telling when though! **

**In other news, the only reason I finished the last chapter when I did was to put in the author's note a CONGRATS to ZakuroU for finishing her story Freezing Cold... BUT I FORGOT AND ITS THERE NOW IM REALLY SORRY BUDDY I PUT IT IN LIKE 4 HOURS LATER! So everyone reading these words needs to click over to her profile and read that amazing story, trust me, it's NOT a waste of your time.**

**If you sneezed during this chapter, BLESS YOU! (Tobuscus) XD**

**BYE-BYE!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Well, you know what they say, 13 is unlucky... or something.**

**READ: So I re-did the last chapter with minor changes: the ending is slightly different so if you want, you can go read it, it might help with this chapter. But only the last few paragraphs, no need to go through the whole thing if you were fine with it anyway! **

**SORRY FOR THE WAIT!~**

* * *

Roy felt Ed's breath on his chest, warming his shirt with every one. He felt his own breath sliding in and out of his lungs as he gathered Ed into a more comfortable position.

Mikey poked his head out from under the blankets in the other cell. "I-Is it over now?" He squeaked, looking at Ed with a worried expression.

Roy pulled his gaze from the blond to look at the scared boy. "Yes, I think it's over now, you can come out." He said, eyes making their way back to Ed's face, with dark circles under his eyes and his slightly more hollow cheeks. Had he actually eaten anything since they'd been here? He moved down to his chest, in his fits, Ed had ripped his tank top into something resembling ribbons, and now that he was paying attention, Roy noticed that Ed was ever so slightly shivering. Barely enough to feel but looking closely, it was there. "Hey, Mikey, could you pass Edward's coats and stuff over here, please?" He said, referring to the items of clothing that Ed had stripped before sleeping a while ago.

Mikey nodded and scrambled out of the bed, the two girls following suite and each grabbed something to carry: Mikey picked up the big black boots, cradling one under each arm; Kalyn and Mia had a quick hissy fit over who would carry Ed's famous red jacket before Kalyn grabbed his black jacket instead; leaving Mia to bundle the big coat into her little arms, tripping over loose bits as she went. Eventually, all the clothes were deposited at the dividing bars, the children settling themselves down next to them patiently for Roy to come and pick them up.

Ed was placed down on the bed, the blanket drawn up to his neck before Roy went to go get the rest of his clothes.

"What does this mean?" Mia asked, pointing to the emblem on the back of Ed's coat as she handed it to Roy.

"Well, it's a snake wound around a cross. These are wings and that's a crown." Roy explained bluntly, plucking the coat from her grasp and placing it over his own.

"Yes, but why?" She asked. "Also, why doesn't he have a uniform like you?"

Roy knew this game that children liked to play: they will ask 'why?' Until they are told to shut up or they get to the reason of the universe. Right now, he didn't quite feel like he had the energy and patience to play with her, instead he just shrugged and said. "I don't know." Before turning to walk back to the bed.

He took the cover back off of Ed, ripping the remaining shreds of his tank top off as it wouldn't do any good. A glint caught his eye, and he found himself gazing at the prosthetic arm attached to Ed's shoulder. 'It's strange.' He thought. 'His body ends there, yet he still has a limb. It's not part of him, not made of his cells or blood, yet he needs it and uses it.'

Roy had found himself sometimes wondering about Ed's automail, how it worked and how useful it was. It wasn't often, he mostly didn't care but there have been moments where he just wondered.

In the dim lighting, he tried to get a better look, the metal the stretched across his shoulder and to the edge of his collarbone, reaching down to midway through his ribs. The shoulder is a complicated joint, so when the arm was taken, how much of the shoulder was sacrificed too? Is he missing some of his shoulder blade? He knew the port covered that on his back too, but did that stunt the movement of the bone? It wasn't likely; he'd seen the way Ed moved. And the metal was layered, seeming to allow the plates to slide over each other.

The arm itself was scratched and dented, but he expected it wasn't much worse than normal. Being a boy of his age, Roy wouldn't be surprised if Ed, in times of boredom or lack of anything better to do, would scratch small doodles into the metal plating using a stone or a sharp object. He guessed that one advantage would be that paper cuts would be impossible on the metal limb and with the amount of books Ed ploughs through would make that a valuable trait.

Ed stirred in his sleep, making to turn onto his side, but finding the limp automail too heavy and falling back onto his back. How heavy was it? Roy found himself reaching over the bed to pick up the limb by the wrist joint, and he had to put more power into his arm before the arm left the bed than he expected: it was heavy. As it was lifted, a small rattling sound was heard from within the casing, most likely the gear that had come loose.

Although this sound was unfamiliar, Roy didn't deem this machinery, under normal functionality, as silent. When not muffled by the white glove that normally hid the hand, one would be able to hear the creaks and rattling of the prosthetic as Ed moved. And even though it took the Colonel a while to get used to, he now didn't mind it as much, he almost found it a comforting sound that accompanied Ed, like his mannerisms it was almost part of his persona. And yet the blond still wanted to get rid of it.

One of the biggest questions that Roy had about the arm was that, with his nerves connected to the electrical wires and circuits within the arm, Ed was able to feel pressure, but not pain. How? It would be impossible to use the arm effectively if he ended up crushing or dropping everything that he held, so the sensation of holding things was necessary. But was this function only programmed up to a certain impulse? Meaning those stronger ones of pain weren't registered or not passed on?

Roy lifted the arm higher off of the bed, looking at what would be the softer and more vulnerable inside of the arm, where the skin would be paler and veins would pulse warmly beneath it, but instead was more of the steel alloy, just as strong and cold as that on the forearm.

The inside of the elbow joint was covered in a thick leathery material, covering the wiring and gears that resided inside. But why wasn't the same material used to cover the underarm? Surely, when showering, the port of the arm should need to be at least covered. And in fights, that would be the arm's weakest point, though it's normally covered in clothing and not open for very long. And it would probably be impractical anyway, it would bunch up when the arm relaxed, or stretch and stunt the lifting. Roy could see the wires that ran from the port down the arm from the gap under the arm, seeing the colour coded plastic casing of them, each with a purpose and the manufacturing to do so. Did Ed know what all of these did? Would he maybe be able to fix the loose gear himself? He was wearing the thing after all; he should know a thing or two about it.

Roy bent the arm a bit at the elbow, but the joint would lock and jerk and creak and he probably shouldn't do that. He might have broken it more. Oops.

"Whaddya doin', Mustang?" Roy heard Ed's voice slur the words and he saw the golden eyes cracked open and laced with exhaustion, though annoyance was pulling his mouth into a frown. "Don't friggin' play with it, bas'erd. Winry'll kill me."

"So you're awake again, huh Fullmetal? That was fast." Roy's eyes hardened as he took in Ed's stunted breathing. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Leave me alone." Ed spat, but he wasn't moving, he wasn't making Roy let go of his arm, or wriggling out of his gaze, or sitting up or even opening his eyes properly or anything. But he was still shivering. He had been the entire time and dammit Roy had been sitting here practically watching him. He pulled the blanket back over the boy, aborting his mission of re-clothing him and instead trying to warm him. But Ed didn't resist, he didn't yell at the colonel for hurting his pride or anything. Ed just tried to breathe a little deeper, but he found that it wasn't possible. Roy didn't miss that.

"What's WRONG?" He said, more forcefully this time, glaring at Ed who stared back at him with eyes that were so tired that Roy just wanted to close them for Ed's sake.

It was silent. For a while it was silent and Ed just stared and Roy just stared back because he wanted to know why Ed wasn't breathing right so he could help and get Ed back to sleep...

But what could he do? He didn't have medical supplies or alchemy or anything except the blankets that were already doing the best they could. So even if Ed did tell him, he's got nothing to offer except words that Ed would want to hear anyway.

His moment of doubt must have flashed in his eyes or something because Ed picked up on it right away, a slight smile curving his dry lips as he knew that he'd won this round.

"Not telling." He said, but his voice was quiet and breathless.

And all in that instant it hit Roy. He'd been so stupid because of course it would be his broken ribs.

"Ed-"

"EDWARD! MISTER ROY HAS BEEN IGNORING US!" A shrill voice screamed across the cells, Kalyn was fuming behind the bars and staring right at the blue clad man. "We've been calling him for AAAGES and he won't even look at us!" It was then that Roy realised that he actually had been ignoring the calls from the other cell, instead choosing to inspect Ed's arm, but he ended up forgetting that he was ignoring them and didn't actually hear then anymore. Wow, he didn't know he could do that.

A small chuckle came from Ed, as weak as it was, and he turned his head to face the children. "Well that's mean of the old man, isn't it? Maybe his hearing's going dull." He said, before turning back to the Colonel, another's smile on his lips as he spoke. "Entertain them." He said.

"Why should I? They seem fine just entertaining themselves." Roy protested, sticking out his chest defiantly.

Ed just continued to smile, and lifted up his hand, bringing it over the bruises that stained his chest.

"What are you-?"

Ed brought down his hand, crushing his ribs. His face screwed up as his lips pursed into a thin line to not let any of the scream come out his lips, tears accumulating in the lashes of his squeezed shut eyes.

"What are you doing?! You idiot!" Roy roared, taking Ed's wrist and holding it away from his own injury. Ed cracked one eye open, the smile flickering back to his face. Roy's eyes widened, the boy was insane.

Ed sucked in as much air as he could manage, before spitting the blood from his mouth right into the colonel's face. "Oops," Ed coughed. "caught you caring for me." He said while wriggling his hand in Roy's grasp to emphasise the fact the man had just instinctively tried to save the boy from further harm. "I never thought you had it in you."

"You're insane." Roy muttered through his shock. "Absolutely insane."

"But... I'm right, aren't I?" Ed rasped. He turned back to the kinds and gave them a full, beaming smile which they all returned. "I want you to go and play with them." He said, too quiet for them to hear, but loud enough for Roy.

The man frowned. "I want you to go back to sleep." He said.

Ed sighed. "Ok, deal. But..." He looked back at Roy, the gleaming in his eyes telling Roy everything he didn't say.

"Ok, when you're gone, I'll go." He compromised. But Ed just shook his head.

"When YOU'RE gone, I'll go." And Roy couldn't fight this boy anymore so he sighed, got up off of the bed and walked over to the division the bars to sit by the children. He glanced behind him and saw that Ed's eyes were already closed, his mouth hanging open slightly as he fell into a calm sleep.

"So," Roy started, addressing the kids in front of him. "what were you trying to ask me?"

* * *

**What did you think? **

**In other news, I was in town today with my friend, and we went into a new 99p shop, and we each bought these wind up mice on a whim. I bought a white one and named it Hamlet because while I've been out of your mind, I've been busying myself with obsessing over No.6. I also went camping and joined a rock band of 12 year old boys through my brother. I went to get a US visa so I can pop over and pay you amazing guys a visit, and applied for my British passport! XD **

**How's school/work/college/university/life? I hope you guys are smiling, because no human being should be sad in this world. If you're not smiling, I know its none of my business, but you can still talk to me, ok? **

**Every single one of you is beautiful. You are an amazing individual and I acknowledge every one of you, and even if it may seem that no one else does, I still hope that you're smiling, because from the perspective of someone who's seen so many sad faces lately, a single smile is worth the world. :)**

**I love you :***

**(I just thought at least one person here needed to see that.)**

**PINCH PUNCH FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH! *1st of Sept 2013* (happy birthday to a bunch of people who are born on this day!)**

**(which day of the year has the most people born on it? I doubt it's all spread out evenly...)**

**BYE BYE!**


	14. Chapter 14

**IT TOOK A WHILE BUT IT'S HERE NOW! I'm probably in the same boat as a whole bunch of authors when I say the word 'school' so... You get the picture. **

**For those who wait patiently, I love you~**

* * *

The light in the hallway flickered off and the children scurried back to their bed. Roy also stood up, and wandered back to his single bed, which was being occupied by a certain blond alchemist.

Sighing, Roy took Ed's forgotten clothes and laid them out on the floor, bunching up the red hood a bit as he lay his head down on it. He then laid his military jacket over his body; there was no point trying to get in the bed with Fullmetal: there wasn't enough space for the two of them, and it would somewhat hurt the pride of both of them.

The sound of loud scraping metal made Roy's eyes shoot open and he sat up on the floor to see the beam of light accompanying the master as he approached the cells.

Roy was blinded for a second as he looked right into the lantern that was held in the man's hand, his other held a cup of some sort of liquid- maybe it's a cure for Ed!

"What do you want?" Roy said, eyeing the man closely as he came to the bars of his cell.

"Edward Elric." Was the short reply. The cup was held out towards Roy, who carefully got up to go receive it. "No." The cup was retracted behind the bars again.

"Well what do you want me to do?!" Roy was losing his patience very fast with this man, and his lack of energy made it worse.

"I want you to bring him to me. Wake him up."

"Why should I?! The kid went through hell barely an hour ago and passed out from whatever you've put inside him and now you want more?! There is no way in hell I'm bringing that boy to you out of my own will." Roy was seething, staring daggers at the other man.

But the alchemical sparks flashed across the cell, black eyes following them as they disappeared into the bed which Ed lay asleep, forming ribbons that stretched across his neck. Ed's eyes flew open and his hand gripped the material that was starting to push on his windpipe. The boy started to gasp and choke against the pressure, struggling as much as he could manage.

"EDWARD!" Roy was already at his side, tugging at the ribbons to ease the pressure on his neck. He turned back to the man. "DAMNIT YOU BASTARD LET HIM GO OR SO HELP ME-!"

"Bring him to me." It was so calm, so god damn calm and collected when he's choking a boy, a fucking exhausted, starving and INJURED boy. But he was suffocating him as a bribe, 'bring him to me or he dies.' Damn it. Damn it all.

Ed was struggling harder now, the ribbons tightening. Panic was flooding Ed's eyes as he looked to Roy for help, for release. Damn it.

Roy was trying, tugging so very hard to rip those binds from Ed's neck, but no release came, panic finding its way into his chest too. Ever since Ed said he cares, Roy hadn't been able to concentrate. Was he right? Or was he wrong? But these actions he was taking now proved him right. He was right. Damn it.

Damn it.

"Ok! OK STOP! I'LL TAKE HIM! I'LL TAKE HIM SO JUST STOP!" Roy was practically hysterical at that moment.

It suddenly stopped, the ribbons fell from Ed's neck and he gasped and panted for air, finding Roy's sleeve and taking a firm hold on it. A stray tear falling onto the pillow, he was so scared.

"That's it, take deep breaths." Roy said quietly as he slipped his hands underneath Ed's shoulder, but there was anger and worry practically falling from the words. "Can you stand?" It was useless to ask, Ed couldn't get a word in through his gasps, but the boy gripped the sleeve tighter as a response. Sighing, Roy put a hand under Ed's knees and stood up, carrying him to the edge of the cell where Master stood.

The man reached through the bars, gripping Ed's arm and pulling him from Roy's grasp, a surprised yelp escaping Ed as he fell, but managing to land on his feet. He clearly couldn't hold his own weight, be that because of lack of food, sleep or general strength or probably a mixture of all, Roy didn't know. But the vice grip from Master kept him from hitting the ground, although Roy had taken his shoulder and under his automail, just in case.

The cup was lifted to Ed's mouth, which he stared at for a minute before it was pushed to his lips. The boy made a small grunt of protest but he ultimately opened his mouth and the liquid was slowly poured in.

Ed managed to drink most of it, some of it poured down his chin, trailing down his bare chest.

Roy watched very carefully, looking for even the slightest twitch that would indicate danger and so he could rip Ed from the man's grasp. It was almost silent, besides Ed's gulps and a quiet sobbing heard from the children's bed, and it made Roy on edge.

"What is it this time? What is this?" Roy gestured to the emptying cup in Master's hand, tipping the last drops into Ed's mouth before bringing it back.

"Cure for the serum." The stranger stated in his deep, gruff voice as he let go of Ed, causing Roy to stagger a bit under the sudden weight.

Roy scowled. Who is this guy?! He puts Ed through his hell only to bring him back again. Why?! Whatever, they'll be getting out soon. One way or another.

Master turned to leave, going just outside the door before shutting it and leaving the occupants in darkness again.

There was a tug on his sleeve as Ed took hold of it again. "M-Mustang? What... Was that...?" He whispered to Roy. "Why... Did it...?" His hand moved to his neck, rubbing the shallow friction burns from mid struggling. Roy's eyes softened, he pulled Ed into a hug, pressing to boy to his chest.

"It's ok now, Edward. I won't let you get hurt anymore."

"Déjà vu..." Ed whispered. "Is it... Just me...?" He said, his legs giving out underneath him and Roy had to catch him.

"Yeah, it's just you." Roy said back, a small smile on his face at Ed's out of topic comment. He lifted Ed up again and took him back to the bed, relief filling every step away from the edge of the cell, although he had to move slowly and carefully as to not trip.

With his foot tapping the mattress, he lowered the now asleep boy onto it. Finding the blanket at pulling it up to his neck, he turned to lie down on the floor next to it, but a hand on his arm stopped him. Roy looked over to where Ed would be.

"What's wrong?" He asked, quietly.

"Stay... here..." Ed rasped, gently tugging on the sleeve.

"Yes, Edward. I'm right here next to you." Roy assured the boy, trying to release himself from Ed's hand.

"No... Here." Another tug. "I'm cold... A-and scared..." Roy's eyes widened a little, shocked at the great Fullmetal alchemist's request, but also understanding of the small boy's plea.

"Are you sure?" Another tug. "Ok then. Move over." Ed shifted slightly in the bed, moving to the side of the bed with the wall as Roy crawled under the blanket next to him. He sighed. "The things I do for my subordinates." He said, feeling Ed against his side and figuring there wasn't enough space this way. He turned so he was lying on his side, and pulled Ed against his chest, feeling the cold automail but not really minding.

Ed buried his face in the Colonel's neck and seemed to relax instantly, smelling his scent- though old and musty and needing a shower- and feeling his heat through his shirt gave Ed more comfort than he thought he needed. Roy's breath tickled his head and he found the rhythm of his heartbeat enough to lull him into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**OK! So, it's short. I am aware of that. I've only been writing it for the last two days around school so its not much time and most of my attention has been on something else that I'm writing (don't worry, it's just a short thing that probably won't be published, it was just a thing going around in my head so I had to get it down and then it kind of took priority.) But I decided that a good place to end was there, putting a whole new scene in would b=have made the chapter too boring for me to write.**

**I put a little OOC fluffy scene at the end, because I was in the mood and I want a hug right now so badly. You're welcome. feel free to see it as yaoi or whatever but I wrote it with only Parental in mind, so there'll be no funny business. **

**I got kind of stuck on nouns in this chapter. I get bored really fast of typing their names over and over, but I've only got about two alternatives to them, and I use those a lot too. So I'll need to think of some more.**

**And thanks to InvisibleNinja1234, I got my butt in gear and wrote this faster than I would have. So cheers a bunch! **

**I'll 'see' you all at a later future. I hope you guys have an amazing Autumn/Spring and keep smiling, no matter what.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Walk up to the club like "Yo where's the anime convention?"**

**NOT BEEN A WEEK YET. SCHOOL BRINGS WRITING FOR PROCRASTINATION. **

**BOOYAH~**

* * *

Light. Ouch.

Roy squeezed his eyes shut and buried his head further into the soft thing beneath his face. It was warm and seemed to snuggle closer to him at the sight of the light.

Unlock. Open. Close.

Steps. Clatter. Steps.

Open. Close. Lock.

The weight in Roy's arms shifted again, the cold of metal brushing his skin and jerking him awake.

"Jesus, Ed. Keep that thing away from me, you're gonna give me a heart attack." He said, keeping his eyes shut because he REALLY did not want to wake up where he thought he was.

"It's broke... You move it..." Ed mumbled, but that's all he said before his breathing slowed again. He was exhausted, to say the least and his mind wouldn't even let him think of opening his eyes.

"Hmm." Roy sighed into Ed's hair, embracing the relative warmth that radiated from the boy, heating the bed and steering away the coldness of the concrete cells as he slid the blanket underneath the automail arm before retracting his own back underneath it.

His eyes were heavy. His stomach growled and he felt hungrier than he's ever felt before. His limbs were like lead, as if no force of earth could make them move. His own breaths were deep and full, whereas he could feel Ed's shallower, stunted breaths on his collar bone. He focused on his own breathing, the way it stung his dry throat as it passed, but every one was cherished by his lungs. Damn, he hated it here. They were getting out.

He heard the light patter of the children on the concrete. They were running somewhere and seemed to be excited for something. What it was, however, he would never be able to guess.

Ed scowled into Roy's neck, giving a small growl as he sighed. The man shifted slightly in response, a smile flickering on his feigning sleep face.

"What's wrong, sleepy head?" He asked, an empty amusement echoing through the walls.

"I don't like them being on their own..." Ed replied, opening a single eye just a crack to peak over Roy's shoulder, seeing them hunched over by the gate of their cell.

Roy breathed a chuckled. "They're ok, you know. They've been here a lot longer than we have so they know the ropes. They're fine." He said, wanting to go back to sleep so badly, wanting food so badly and wanting to go home so, SO badly.

"I don't like it..."

"Edward?" Mikey's soft, tired voice rang through the cells. "Edward, are you awake yet? We got food from Master if you want some."

The mention of food made both alchemists tense: it was exactly what they needed right now. Ed wriggled out of Roy's hold, managing to somewhat sit up before crawling over the man, onto the floor beside the bed.

"Careful, Ed, don't be too reckless." Roy warned from the bed, watching Ed stumble from the bed over to the division bars where Mikey met him and passed him two loaves of bread.

"It's ok; it doesn't hurt now anyway, I'm just tired and hungry as hell. Seriously, I haven't been this hungry since teacher's training with Al..." Ed trailed off, lowering his hand and the bread into his lap as he stared at them. "Heh, you know, I tried to eat him. You should have seen his face. And now I'm here, wherever this is, and I've left him alone. What kind of brother am I?" His voice had gotten so soft it was barely a whisper by the end.

"Edward?" Kalyn squeaked, padding over to the boy and reaching over to take his hand. "Is Al your brother? What's he like?"

Ed took her hand and held it, so small in his. He moved his hand to her face as she stared at him with big eyes, brown and curious like a small mouse. "You're so pretty, Kalyn." He countered, afraid that talk of Al in his exhausted state would mess with his emotions. The five year old giggled, her laughter jingling through the bars.

"Thank you." She said. "You are pretty too."

Ed smiled. "No, silly, you don't say boys are pretty: you say they are handsome. For example, Mikey is very handsome." He said, gesturing to the boy who beamed back at Ed.

He pulled a face and looked over to Kalyn. "Am I handsome now?" He asked, laughing as the other two burst into hysterics. Ed threw his head up and laughed and laughed. Kalyn fell onto her side and gripped her stomach as tears threatened to overflow.

"What?! What's funny?!" Mia shrieked over the noise as she ran over to the other kids. When Mikey turned his face on the small girl, she stopped dead in her tracks, her hands shot to her mouth and she tried to stunt her giggles. It failed, and she ran over and threw herself at Mikey, slinging her arms around his neck. "Noo! Stop Mikey!" She giggled.

Ed laughed and laughed, but a white hot pain burst from his chest and cut off his voice. He hissed and clamped his hand over the bruises.

"Edward?" Mikey asked, suddenly turning serious.

"I'm ok, no problems." Ed said through gritted teeth. A hand landed on his head from behind, his hair was ruffled as Roy sat down.

"I told you, don't over exert yourself. You need to rest. Now, where's that food, I got bored of waiting for you to bring it back." Roy said as he reached over and took a loaf of bread from Ed's lap.

Ed huffed and took a bite out of his own food, the bland taste of it being enough to send his stomach craving more. He was so god damn hungry. It was barely a minute before he finished the thing.

"Here." Roy said, breaking off handing half of his loaf to Ed.

The blond just stared at it. "What?" He said.

"Eat this. You're hungry, right? You've eaten a lot less than us so you can use the extra fuel." Roy said, pressing the food into the boy's hand.

Ed marvelled at it like it was a precious jewel. "Th-Thanks a bunch!" He said, beaming and far too hungry to refuse the offer.

"Here."

"Here."

"Here."

Three voices accompanied pieces of bread being poked through the bars. They were small but the look the children wore were ones of such kindness that Ed would have cried if he wasn't Ed. instead, he looked just as confused as he was by Mustang's offer.

"But why?" He said, staring at the kids as they smiled at him.

"'Cause, Mister Roy said that you were hungry." Kalyn said.

"Are you sure?"

"Mmhm!"

"Thanks..." Ed gingerly took the food from the skinny children, not feeling so much guilt in a long time but he couldn't let those faces be rejected: they looked so proud and happy and kind.

These kids were so, so kind. One would expect little ones who grow up in this environment to become hostile and cold but... But maybe he wasn't too late to save them. However, there's no way to know what this experience will do to then as they grow up. Mia may have the chance to forget, but Mikey might not be so lucky.

Hell, what was this going to do to Ed when he grows up?

"C'mon." Roy said as Ed finished the last of his donated bread. "You should get some more sleep while you can."

"What's the sudden need for recovery? Right now there's nothing I need to recover for." Ed said, but he liked the thought of sleep more and more every minute.

"Actually, it might interest you to know that I have an idea of a way to get the hell outta here."

* * *

**Dudes: my chapters are getting shorter. Damn this. But, I got in everything I wanted to write, and that was it.**

** Secondly: This "idea" that Roy has is also my idea because great minds think alike. However, this means that it is probably really plausible and crappy and non-sensicle. But I want you to bare with me and go with it for the sake of the plot, OK?**

**In addition to this: While I'm back in your minds, what do you think about when I'm "gone"? I'm interested.**

**Furthermore: Are you liking what I've done so far or not? **

**I was listening to Just Keep Breathing by We The Kings while writing this and I had to stop writing because that damn song makes everything so damn emotional. One time, I was reading Blue Exorcist and that damn song came on in volume 7 and I had to stop and just cry. And then, I was listening to it and thought of how it fit FMA and No.6 and I had to stop and cry. And then, I was making my friend a scrapbook of us and that damn song came on and I had to stop and cry and I haven't touched the book since. I'm such an awful friend... Also, I was watching this EdWin AMV: the one with Fix You playing and I cried so hard, and I showed it to my friend who doesn't even like anime and she cried too. **

**On a happier note: My bro and I have just finished jamming to Fall Out Boy and my new All Time Low album Dirty Work! I'm going to Vans Warped Tour with my best friend and it's nearly winter. I hate summer. I'm still single as hell and I can't tell if I'm bothered by that or not. **

**TMNT FOREVER! OMG so I got this Michelangelo orange mask from a boot fair and I've stuck it over Alex Gaskarth's (from All Time Low) face on my poster to make AlexAngelo! I've never seen anything more perfect. **

**I hope everyone has survived this Monday, and I wish you good luck until the weekend. Rock on, bros. **


End file.
